Pinellas Barrier Islands reopen as community tries to return to a sense of 'normalcy'

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Barrier Islands in Pinellas County reopened on Tuesday at 4 p.m., but residents, business owners, and county officials encourage people not to go out there unless they need to or are volunteering to help clean up. 

County leaders said Helene’s damage is the worst the county has seen in 100 years. Tuesday morning, they extended the local state of emergency. 

"The residents don’t need sightseers," Pinellas County Commissioners Chair Kathleen Peters, who lives on the barrier islands and had damage to her home, said. "I know everybody’s going to want to come and drive along the beach and see the damage for themselves, but that will clog up the system for people to get the work done and so, those of us that live on the beach would really prefer that the sightseeing not take place."

County leaders say they wanted to open the Barrier Islands on Tuesday to get more contractors onsite. They also wanted to give family and friends of those on the Barrier Islands an opportunity to go out and help clean up. 

Opening up access means people on the Barrier Islands will be able to get food and resources delivered. Non-profit organizations will also be able to help with recovery efforts. 

City leaders say people should not go to the Barrier Islands to look around because they will get in the way of recovery efforts. 

"Have a little sympathy," Commissioner Charlie Justice said. "Have a little empathy. Don't go to the beach if you're not going to help your family or friend clean up. Don't go there. It has only been a couple of days. These folks need days, weeks to get through this. For some, this is going to be the worst day of their life. They don't need people sightseeing and being a tourist. We need to help our folks. If you want to be involved, engaged, find a charity that's doing food distribution or cleanup and become involved that way. Please don't become part of the problem."

North Beach will be restricted to those who have legitimate business there, residents, and Barrier Island pass holders. 

City officials noted that the Clearwater Pier is out of service, and they asked that people stay away from the beaches for a few more days as residents and business owners continue recovering from Hurricane Helene. 

Law enforcement agencies will continue to have saturated overnight patrols in the impacted areas. 

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said, "If you have bad intentions, you are going to have a bad outcome."

Five distribution sites are operating in the county for free food, water, and tarps for residents impacted by Hurricane Helene in 

• St. Pete Beach
• Treasure Island
• Tierra Verde
• Redington Shores
• St. Petersburg

A Family Resource Center for various supplies is now open in St. Petersburg at 6690 Crosswinds Dr. N.

St. Pete Beach Deputy Fire Chief Adam Poirrier says since cleanup efforts started, they’ve responded to several calls for heat exhaustion and minor injuries. 

"As a human, I've been here for over 40 years in Pinellas County. I worked here even before I was in the fire service. I've worked for St. Beach Fire Rescue just under 10 years. I have never seen anything like this to the extent for our area," he said. "Obviously, I've been to other areas impacted by disaster, but as far as our area, I've just, I've never seen anything quite like this. And, you know, my heart and thoughts are with our citizens that are dealing with this all the way up the coast. We’re doing everything possible to support them."

He said if a home or business wasn’t elevated, it was flooded. Several buildings were condemned, including Seahorse Restaurant, which has been around since 1938. 

A FEMA Disaster Recover Center will open Wednesday, Oct. 2 at the Largo Public Library to provide residents with various disaster related resources and information. The US Small Business Administration is offering low interest Physical Damage and Economic Injury Loans for residents and businesses at SBA.gov. 

For the latest information on disaster recovery/resource locations, donation sites, FEMA/SBA assistance, and updates from Pinellas County visit disaster.pinellas.gov.

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