‘We’re definitely concerned’: Murrells Inlet Goat Island evacuated ahead of Florence

Goats from Goat Island in Murrells Inlet are heeding South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s warning and evacuating from the MarshWalk.

On Tuesday, the goats were moved to a farm off of S.C. 707 to prepare for incoming Hurricane Florence.

“It was easy today,” said Al Hitchcock, owner of Drunken Jack’s. “We told them it was mandatory, the governor said get off, so they didn’t give much resistance.”

Around 10 a.m., four goats were loaded onto a pontoon boat. Seeing some goats already on the boat, the rest followed suit, walking over a little board and into the boat where they were taken to land, Hitchcock said.

This isn’t the first time goats have been evacuated from the island, which sits behind Bubba’s Love Shak and Drunken Jack’s. Last year, they were moved due to Hurricane Irma, which threatened the southern end of the Grand Strand as it moved up the Florida coast.

With Hurricane Florence poised to hit the North Carolina coast Thursday night, Hitchcock said he is tying down tables and chairs.

Shortly after 11 a.m., water in the marsh was a foot above average during high tide, Hitchcock said. Most of Goat Island was covered with water, leaving a thin strip of visible land.

“We’re definitely concerned,” he said.