Bay Area beaches begin to reopen after Hurricane Milton

Beaches reopening in Manatee County

A lot of the beaches in Manatee County are reopening or have already reopened after Hurricane Milton. FOX 13's Kaily Tracy reports.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Recovery efforts continue across the Bay Area after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, but several area beaches are starting to reopen.

Manatee County Public Beach reopened earlier this week.

Officials say parking may be limited, though, because they’re still clearing some sand and debris. Several businesses, including Anna Maria Island Beach Café, are also back open.

County officials say they hope to reopen Coquina Beach by this weekend.

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Crews continue to rake the sand there to get it ready for visitors. Nearby parking areas are being used for sand-sifting operations to return the clean sand directly to the beaches where it was washed away. Officials say this on-site process is designed to save money, time and effort.

Cortez Beach had more damage and will take more time to reopen.

Beach access points are closed and there’s still debris in the sand. Crews must remove tons of sand and debris and rebuild and repair infrastructure.

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County officials, including District Three Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, Manatee County Director of Natural Resources Charlie Hunsicker, and Manatee County Deputy Director Parks and County Grounds Carmine DeMilio, will discuss their "fast-track timeline" to reopen the beaches at a press conference at 10:30 Friday morning.

Several Sarasota-area beaches will reopen Saturday with the exception of Lido Beach.

It has been closed since Sept. 25. Crews removed mountains of sand as high as four feet just to get to the damaged pavilion and sidewalks, and then had to make repairs.

Hurricane Helene damaged the concession area and public access points there, including buckling sidewalks and walkways. Hurricane Milton damaged it further. Officials say they’re anticipating reopening Lido Beach soon.

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