SARASOTA, Fla. (WJW) – A couple of legendary members of the FOX 8 family, who have homes in Florida, found themselves in the path of Hurricane Milton on Wednesday night.
As the hurricane unleashed its fury, “Cleveland’s Own” Lil’ John Rinaldi and retired anchor Bill Martin and their families decided to ride out the historic storm at their homes in Sarasota County.
Lil’ John and his wife are staying at their villa in Sarasota, and John told us via Zoom, “I am not in an evacuation zone or in a flood zone. My place happens to be the highest elevation in Sarasota, 11 feet.”
Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm
Even though John has been making trips to Florida for 25 years, Milton is the first hurricane he has experienced first-hand.
“Well, there’s anxiety in the fact that this is the biggest and the ‘baddest’ and everything that they’re saying. I basically feel that it’s going to hit for sure, but I’m so far away from the water, the storm surge means nothing to me,” he said.