Phoenix travelers deal with the effects of Hurricane Irma

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - While the airports in Florida slowly get back to normal, people traveling through Sky Harbor are still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Irma.

Valley resident Kristen Steinmetz is here to try to take a vacation one more time.

"It was a leadership incentive trip that I had earned and we were going for an all expense paid vacation," she said.

A cruise that was supposed to leave from Florida yesterday morning, but with everything canceled, she says getting out of the heat is now her main priority.

"We're going to Seattle instead," she said.

But for those escaping crazier weather, the heat is almost a relief.

"I was like 'there's nothing possible that can happen in Arizona,' so I was like 'I feel safe now,'" Elisha Moore said.

Elisha chose to evacuate the Phoenix after bouncing from city to city in Florida trying to get out. He thought the sunshine state would be safe when he landed there from Texas.

"I live in Houston, I'm from Orlando, so I evacuated from Houston to Florida and then Irma came, and then I came from Irma to Arizona," he said.

He has family in Orlando and all of them are safe, but their homes did lose power and a tree fell on his mother's car. Houston is his main concern now and he's planning on going back to help with recovery efforts.

Meanwhile, most airports in Florida are beginning operations again. There's a few canceled and delayed flights in the Valley, but nothing compared to what we saw a few days ago.

Airports in Florida are hoping to be back up to full speed by the weekend.