DOVER, Fla. — As last minute preparations are underway ahead for hurricane Milton, residents in Dover are hoping that their preparations are enough.


What You Need To Know

  •   Some Dover residents say they are concerned about tree damage that could happen during Hurricane Milton

  •   Marcos Rios said he is protecting his home from debris as best he can

  •   Rios and his wife Tracy say they aren’t taking any chances and are moving their food truck to a safer place

Many of the residents in this Dover community will be staying to ride out the hurricane to help protect their homes after the storm passes. But one resident says their fear is the trees and the damage it could cause to their property.

It’s been a busy week for Marcos Rios prepping his home for hurricane Milton. 

Rios said he’s stayed through hurricanes before, so he knows the drill.

“My house has a lot of windows and doors, so I got to make sure that if there’s any debris, it’s not going to take out any windows,” he said.

He’s most concerned about the trees on his property falling with strong winds — something he and his wife Tracy have experienced before.

“This was Chiefs Chill out — it was our ice cream truck we had from 2016 until Hurricane Ian dropped a tree on it,” Tracy said.

Since then, they’ve been operating out of a different food truck and this time around, they’re not taking any chances.

“We’re just moving it next doors to our neighbor’s driveway, and he doesn’t have any large trees in his driveway, so we’re not worried about,” she said.

They’ve also had a tree specialist access their property and had several trees removed already.

“I trust the tree specialist, and he said, ‘No, it should fall away from you, and don’t take more trees than you have to,’” Marcos said. “I love my shade that we have, it’s a great view.”

As he walks around making sure his home is secure, Marcos said he was hopeful his family will stay protected through the storm and will be enjoying the great view again soon.

Marcos and Tracy said that once the hurricane passes, they’ll be heading out to provide warm meals to their community.