‘Until things settle down.’ Surfside residents mull leaving their homes ahead of demolition

For many Surfside residents, Sunday meant making plans to escape the impact of the evening’s scheduled demolition of the remaining structure at the Champlain Towers South.

Rescuers have so far found 24 people dead while 121 others are still missing in the rubble since the building first came down in the early hours of June 24th. Now, officials are planning a controlled demolition of the rest of the building as early as Sunday night — ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa, whose sustained winds reaching 60 mph threaten to topple the rest of the structure.

Justin Schultz, 47, lives in a typical Surfside ranch house — though his is adorned with solar panels — on the 8900 block of Abbott Avenue with his wife and young son. They moved from Miami Beach four years ago to start a family and pursue their “little slice of paradise.”

This week, their home found itself in the shadow of tragedy. By Sunday, the nightmare hadn’t ended: Schultz said he and his family were just on their way out of town in advance of the planned knock-down. He said he didn’t know when they’d return — “until things settle down,” he said.

“It’s a town of 4,000 that always felt like 40 — and now it’s the worst kind of tourist attraction,” Schultz said of Surfside. “We all knew each other — and everyone knows someone who has been affected. It’s been gut-wrenching and heart-breaking.”

It appeared some of Schultz’s neighbors had already cleared out: Knocks on the doors of multiple nearby houses went unanswered.

Chiara Mauriziano, 20, has lived in Champlain Towers South’s sister building, Champlain Towers East, since January, though her condo has been in her family for some two decades. She said authorities recommended they leave the area for the rest of the day, though she said she planned to return later that evening, as soon as the demolition ended.

Given what she’d experienced in the past week, the night out was no problem at all.

“We’re relaxed now,” she said about any concerns she had at this point. “They said our building is safe.”