Pinellas County officials warn beachgoers to stay off dunes after damage done by recent weather

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. - It will be busy at the beach this holiday weekend with visitors and locals enjoying a Florida winter, but officials in Pinellas County are asking beachgoers to stay off the sand dunes, as they try to rebuild after the major December storm last weekend. 

According to officials, 40 to 50 percent of the 250,000 pounds of sand that was hauled in to Pinellas beaches was washed away during severe weather. Renovations on the beach originally stemmed from damage left after Hurricane Idalia. 

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That's a big loss, as the project cost the county nearly $25 million.

"We weren’t hoping that we would have to test it out this quickly… allow the vegetation a time to get established, which didn’t happen," Kelli Hammer Levy with public works in Pinellas County said. "But the bottom line is these dunes took the brunt of the storm, that otherwise would’ve hit property, would’ve hit structures, so to that point, they did their job."

Now, the county says they will assess exactly how much sand was lost, and see where they need to bring more in, or if they can just re-structure the dunes that are left. 

FOX 13 spoke with a Madeira Beach resident, who said she was shocked by the devastation. 

"I went over to the beach after the storm and I just cried, I cried. Everything they’ve done… it seems like it was all for naught," Lisa Herod said. "I don’t know if it was just too soon after, I just don’t know. It was devastating; it was kind of like we were back to square one. I mean, I didn’t think it looked any different than after Idalia to be honest with you."

Still, the Indian Rocks Mayor Joanne Cookie Kennedy is urging people to stay off the dunes this holiday weekend. 

"Stay off the dunes, go to the beach access points that are easier to get on and off… be mindful of beaches and our environment, and be a good steward."