JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Wind and rain did more than leave the First Coast soaked this weekend, some areas in Jacksonville Beach saw damage from the storms including the annual Deck the Chairs display.
“This has been by far the most severe," said Deck the Chairs founder, Kurtis Loftus.
Torn props and toppled chairs lined the Sea Walk Pavilion after wind and rain wreaked havoc on The Deck the Chairs displays.
“Some of the larger props that are top heavy went over last night, we talked to the sponsors about preparing and getting them ready," Loftus said.
Loftus stopped the event for the weekend due to the storm. Now, he’ll wait until the ground is dry, and the rain clears before bringing in volunteers for repairs.
“Right now we’re doing what we can to keep the park safe, and we’re looking at it like, 'Oh my gosh it’s going to be work,'" Loftus said.
The rain also causing some flooding on streets and parking lots in Jacksonville Beach. Runners spent the morning navigating puddles and jumping over broken branches.
“In my neighborhood, we’ve go low lying and we’re right on the inlet of the inner coastal and some of the areas are flooded and some of them untouched," said Trina Dockery, who was out for her morning walk.
While the rain may have cast a gloom over the weekend, the excitement for holiday events at Jacksonville Beach hasn’t been washed away.
”It’s unfortunate to see some of the chairs and what not are damaged, some are tipped over and by this time I’ve usually come out and see the whole thing and we have not yet this year, so hopefully they’ll get it back up," Dockery said.
Loftus' plan is to do an assessment of the damage on Monday and hopefully have the light display open for crowds Tuesday night.
“By Tuesday night beautiful park, lights on, and we’ll have a great reminder of the Christmas holiday season," Loftus said.