Hurricane debris may pose safety problem for trick-or-treaters on Halloween

Navigating Halloween on streets lined with debris

FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia reports on how parents and kids should navigate trick-or-treating with large amounts of debris still on the ground from Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

TAMPA, Fla. - As the city of Tampa continues the storm cleanup process, there is concern over kids trick-or-treating in neighborhoods while navigating debris piles.

"Things are going very well. However, all of the debris is not picked up as of yet," Solid Waste Director Larry Washington said. "So, we're asking the public to be patient."

As of Wednesday, city crews had already picked up almost 400,000 cubic yards of household and vegetative debris, according to Washington.

"So, we're making a huge dent in the amount of debris that's curbside, but it will take time still," Washington added.

READ: City of Tampa has 90 days to clear all hurricane debris: 'We get it done'

Residents told FOX 13 that kids run in and out of yards across streets while trick-or-treating, so they have concerns about safety during Halloween.

The Culbreath Bayou Neighborhood is known for its annual Halloween celebration, but due to the outstanding debris piles that haven’t been picked up yet, association president Ansley Voss told FOX 13 they made the difficult decision to cancel the Halloween event.

"There's tree limbs and branches and it's just not safe," Voss said.

Residents in other Tampa neighborhoods expressed a similar concern. In Culbreath Bayou, there are several areas where most of the debris has been picked up. But on other streets, the piles of debris span a good chunk of the curb. So, some residents will stay and trick-or-treat. But not Voss and her son.

"I don't want him to just run by a (tree) limb," Voss said. "It just makes me very uncomfortable."

READ: Doctors see uptick in sickness from THC-laced candy ahead of Halloween

Doctors who work in AdventHealth emergency rooms across the Bay area said they’ve treated storm debris-related injuries since the two hurricanes.

"We've seen a lot of puncture wounds. We've seen a lot of lacerations or cuts," Dr. Michael Patch explained.

Some of these injuries were caused by tree branches and nails. Patch told FOX 13 they’ve also treated patients who were injured while removing drywall or moving furniture.

"So just keep an eye on your kids," Patch said. "Make sure they have good feet protection."

He said other patients have come in complaining about respiratory problems that could potentially be due to mold caused by floodwaters.

The city of Tampa will stop debris collection early Thursday afternoon so that all of its trucks will be off the roads ahead of trick-or-treating.

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