Need a hotel in York County? Better act fast, thanks to Hurricane Matthew

York County may be out of the way of Hurricane Matthew’s direct path, but officials are keeping a close eye on the storm as it makes its way up the South Carolina coast.

Hotels and grocery stores have been stuffed solid with people either preparing for the brunt of the storm or escaping the Lowcountry as evacuees.

Matthew is expected to hit the east coast of Florida by Friday morning as a Category 3 hurricane and should soak much of the South Carolina coast throughout the weekend.

“There’s a lot of folks moving inland,” said Rob Youngblood, president of the York County Chamber of Commerce. “While we certainly don’t want to prey on the needs and the situations of folks, we’re glad to have them here, and we’ll treat them with the hospitality we always do... . We’ll make them feel comfortable.”

Recent projections have estimated Matthew will take a more easterly direction, pushing the likely impact zone closer to the Atlantic Ocean. Officials in York, Lancaster and Chester counties have been in direct contact with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division, which has indicated the three counties should stay out of imminent danger.

However, local businesses have indicated the hurricane has caused many to prepare for the worst.

Hotels, campgrounds filling up quickly

Nearly every hotel near the Carowinds amusement park in Fort Mill is booked through the weekend, according to the Clarion Hotel general manager.

Phyllis Graham said her hotel will be full through Monday. She’s using her rooms to house nearly 200 senior citizens from a senior living center in Charleston who called yesterday, desperate for a place to stay.

Graham said she spoke with six other hotels early Wednesday morning and was told every one of them was also booked. As early as 11 a.m. Wednesday, she had taken “70 to 100” phone calls from others hoping to land a room.

“This time of the year, it’s slow,” Graham said. “But since the evacuation started, there’s not been any rooms available as far as I can tell.”

The Hampton Inn on Tabor Drive in Rock Hill is also fully booked through Saturday, according to general manager Eddie Bosch. The hotel had already booked rooms to house two wedding parties and has since fielded several phone calls from those hoping to find shelter before the storm.

Bosch said the hotel has pre-designated plans on how best to prepare for danger, including power outages, food shortages and other possibilities.

“It’s the same type of things we do for a regular weekend,” Bosch said. “It’s just on a bigger scale.”

The Charlotte/Fort Mill Kampgrounds of America (KOA) are fully booked, mostly due to the race weekend. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway takes place 7 p.m. Saturday.

Groceries, liquor in high demand

The Publix Supermarket at Heckle Boulevard in Rock Hill experienced an “extremely busy” Tuesday evening and is expecting brisk business throughout the week, according to event planner Kim Smith.

Customers were stocking up on toilet paper, bottled water, snacks, cookies, pies and cakes, according to Smith. She said she noticed many were also exchanging their propane tanks, in order to heat food.

“It’s pretty much a normal day as if we were calling for snow tomorrow,” said Smith, close to noon Wednesday. “We probably won’t see a big increase until people get home from work.”

Kris Demarest, a representative with O’Darby’s Fine Wine and Spirits on Riverchase Boulevard, said people prefer to stock up on liquor in the late afternoon. He said he expects the rush to come either tomorrow or Friday.

The drink of choice for those hunkering down before a big storm?

“Vodka is the best-seller,” he said.

School districts waiting, watching for changes

Representatives with the Rock Hill, Fort Mill and Clover school districts told The Herald they’ve been in regular contact with the York County Office of Emergency Management to keep abreast of the situation as Matthew approaches.

Each of the school districts has notification processes in place to reach parents, students and staff in case the storm turns and classes are canceled this week.

Clover Schools spokesman Bryan Dillon said he’s been told York County is outside of the “cone of error,” which indicates where the hurricane will do the most damage.

“With the nature of a hurricane, we’ve got a good idea of where it’s going to be and where it’s going,” Dillon said. “We would be able to make the decision to have or not have school if there’s landfall.”

Kelly McKinney, with the Fort Mill School District, said officials have been “very vigilant” in tracking the storm as it barrels its way up the coast.

‘Everything’s normal’ for local gas stations

York County gas stations saw typical customer flows Wednesday afternoon.

Max Gray, a cashier with the Cherry Road QuikTrip in Rock Hill, said he didn’t see any sign of panic in drivers filling up their tanks ahead of the storm.

Gray, who’s from Oklahoma, said it was his first encounter with a hurricane.

“I lived there for 28 years and never saw (a tornado),” he said. “It just seems like a normal day. Everything’s normal.”

Cherie Cash, with Love’s Travel Stop on Sutton Ridge Lane, also said she hadn’t seen any rush or large crowds.

This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 8:47 PM with the headline "Need a hotel in York County? Better act fast, thanks to Hurricane Matthew."