Hurricane Irma Aftermath: Family Takes Barbecue On The Road

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — When Chris and Beej Harriel evacuated to Texas after the power went out at their New Port Richey home Saturday night, they couldn’t help but notice the traffic flowing toward Florida and Hurricane Irma instead of away from it.

“We saw dozens of power company trucks on the interstate,” Beej told Patch. “As we were fleeing, they were driving into the storm to assist.” (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from New Port Richey Patch. Click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

That sight stuck with the Harriels throughout their stay in the Houston area. When they returned to New Port Richey after the storm, they found their home was still without power. Even so, the image of the convey and a post they spotted on Facebook, prompting folks to “#thankalineman,” inspired them to act.

Putting Chris’ barbecue skills to work, the couple on Thursday grilled up more than 100 hot dogs and hamburgers, whipped up homemade pasta salads and collected chips and drinks. Matt and Marie Bower and Danielle Hartley donated to the effort, which was initially meant to put hot food in hardworking linemen's bellies.

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After visiting two electric company staging areas, the Harriels learned the linemen were already well taken care of. Rather than let the food to go waste, they took a tip from a lineman they met at Gulf High School.

“He actually suggested we drive down Grand Boulevard, looking for folks without power,” Beej said. “Some who might need a meal.”

That tip quickly paid off, and so did a post on the New Port Richey Chat page on Facebook.

“And from there, word spread that we had hot meals,” Beej said.

The couple set up in the Beacon Square Recreation Center parking lot and began to hand out meals. When traffic there slowed, they took to the streets, looking for areas without power and they also drove to areas where they knew there were populations of homeless people.

“People commented on Facebook that they hadn’t had a real meal in days,” Beej said. “So, we delivered from Holiday up past State Road 52.”

While the Harriels were able to help many people along the way, Beej said they also received a hand from an appreciative family. The Harriels had stopped on a road without power to feed a family with more than 10 members and their neighbors. After chatting for a while, Chris and Beej realized their car battery had died.

“We fed them; they gave us a jump,” Beej said.

When asked if they would do it again, Beej didn’t hesitate to say “absolutely.”

Not only did the effort give Chris, a Safety Harbor native, a chance to hone his barbecuing skills (he hopes to open his own ‘slow cook barbecue shop someday’), it was a good lesson for the couple’s kids, Beej said. The Harriels have four children, ages 11, 5, 3 and an infant. Providing hot meals to others in a crisis helped show the kids “what it means to have a good heart,” Beej said. Plus, it created “warm fuzzies throughout the whole family.”

Photo courtesy of Chris and Beej Harriel