Pinellas County communities picking up the pieces after Hurricanes Milton and Helene

Pinellas County recovering in aftermath of Milton

Kailey Tracy reports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - In Pinellas County, officials have looked at more than 1,900 properties and more than 500 are destroyed or reported as having major damage.

Much of Pinellas remains under a boil water advisory as well, including St. Petersburg and the southern barrier islands from John’s Pass to Tierra Verde. Residents should either use bottled water or boil tap water before using it for cooking, drinking or personal hygiene like brushing your teeth.

County officials said Friday crews have been working nonstop to clear trees and downed lines across the area. There are still spots where it’s hazardous, according to Cathie Perkins, the director of Pinellas County Emergency Management.

READ: Governor Ron DeSantis says Hurricane Milton recovery efforts are picking up

Pinellas County reopened debris drop-off sites on Friday for unincorporated areas of the county only. Those sites include 13,600 Icot Boulevard in Clearwater and at the corner of Keystone Road and East Lake Road in East Lake. They’ll accept debris daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. until further notice. These sites aren’t open to commercial haulers.

County officials said residents should check with their respective municipalities for more information about debris pickup. Each city is managing its own debris pickup program. Pinellas County is also working with its curbside residential debris collector over the next several days to remove storm debris and hazards from unincorporated county roads after Hurricane Milton.

Governor Ron DeSantis said during his visit to St. Pete on Friday that debris piles across the area didn’t get blown around as much as they thought they might have during Milton. Local officials said most of the debris stayed in place in piles during the storm. Some debris did scatter, but mostly vegetation debris.

DeSantis said state crews helped local crews remove more than 40,000 cubic yards of Helene debris in 72 hours before Milton from the Pinellas County barrier islands.

MORE: St. Pete community's retention pond seeps into homes during Hurricane Milton

"This has been now going on for weeks where we've been on this emergency footing," DeSantis said. "I know people have been working around the clock. Just when you started getting a little bit of normalcy after Helene, when things started to maybe stabilize, you turned around and had to deal with this other menacing storm, Hurricane Milton. And as I said, there's damage. There's a lot that's going to need to be done. We did not get the worst case scenario, but we did get hit, and we're going to have to work to bounce back."

FOX 13 asked the governor if there should be more regulations on taller, tower cranes during hurricane season. A crane from the 400 Central construction site in St. Pete fell into an office building during the storm due to wind gusts, city officials said St. Pete hasn’t seen in more than 50 years. The highest gust was 101 miles per hour.

"I think the question is should there be more regulation or should there just be more common sense. I mean, do we have to regulate everything? I mean, I think most people take the cranes down. I know. Kevin [Guthrie], isn't that the standard practice? I don't think we've had to mandate that," DeSantis said.

"Any time you’re doing stuff, you always have contingency plans for how you have to deal with things," he said.

READ: Hurricane Milton aftermath: Crane collapse, Tropicana's torn roof among damages in St. Pete

St. Pete officials said those taller cranes take crews a week or more to plan to remove and take a specialized crew. No one was hurt when the crane fell.

"I don't buy this idea that it takes weeks to mitigate. I don't accept that at all. I mean, just think about this stuff that they said. I mean, they said that the debris would take six months to a year, and then we got 40,000 cubic yards of debris off the Pinellas beaches just by bringing all of our people … in this rapid 72 hours, and you got rid of over 3,000 truckloads of debris. So, things can be done. You just have to have the wherewithal to want to do it," DeSantis said.

In St. Pete Beach, Fire Chief Jim Kilpatrick said the damage wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been from Milton. Milton, he said, was more of a wind event. It ripped siding off and created even more infrastructure issues, specifically causing problems to the electric grid that Helene started. Helene, he said, was a catastrophic water event like nothing he’d ever seen, he said.

There were multiple trees and wires down from Milton, and it compounded issues caused by Helene, Kilpatrick said. The fire chief said he is concerned about homes and businesses that have sat waterlogged since Helene and now have been hit again.

MORE: Hillsborough residents near the Alafia River rescued from floodwaters after Hurricane Milton

"I'm worried about those structures coming down," he said. "I'm worried about structures not being viable to be rebuilt. I'm worried about the profile of the city changing after these communities have to tear down some of these homes that are no longer worth fixing," Kilpatrick said.

He said they didn’t have too many rescues, and thinks most people listened to the mandatory evacuation order for Milton.

"I think Helene, that was another one that really it helped to have that storm right prior to this one, because it really gave the message that it's time to leave and people listened. Helene scared them and with Milton, it motivated them to leave the island," Kilpatrick said.

Kilpatrick said there are still hazards in St. Pete Beach, and it’s not a good idea to be out walking or driving around. Close to 30 city employees had damage to or lost their own homes too.

READ: Bay Area power companies gradually restoring power after Hurricane Milton

"It’s a mental strength. You know, there are people in here that have been working, you know, two and three weeks straight prepping during these events, after these events, continuing now feeding these resources that are here, providing housing. Their houses being destroyed and working through that. There's a lot of strong people in there," Kilpatrick said.

In Treasure Island, Spokesperson Jason Beisel said they haven’t had to make any rescues so far. They had nearly 100% evacuation order compliance. He said it could’ve been a lot worse if people stayed with the possible tornado at Costa townhomes on Paradise Island.

Many roofs are off or damaged, and structures were assessed on Friday and assessments will continue on Saturday. In Sunset Beach, many structures are expected to be structurally unsound.

"In the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, it has been a challenging and emotional time for everyone. These storms have impacted our community, and we want you to know that the City of Treasure Island has been here every step of the way and will continue to be here for you as we rebuild and recover," Treasure Island City Manager Chuck Anderson said in a letter to residents and businesses.

MORE: Hurricane Milton: Gas distribution underway after Port Tampa Bay impacted by power issues

Anderson wrote that city crews and contracted crews are working tirelessly to clear roads, collect debris and waste, restore beaches and address immediate safety concerns.

"While we are setting up resources and assistance programs to support you, some of these entities have not arrived and are not fully activated yet. Please be assured that getting all the assistance needed is the city’s top priority," Anderson said. "We kindly ask for your patience and understanding as we continue to work through this unimaginable situation. The journey may be long, but we are confident that we will come back stronger together."

In St. Pete, three comfort and charging stations will open Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. They’ll be located at Frank Pierce Recreation Center located at 2000 7th Street South, Childs Park Recreation Center located at 430113th Avenue South and Roberts Recreation Center located at 1246 50th Avenue North.

City officials also announced Friday night that St. Pete police officers are stationed near 22nd Avenue North between Eighth Avenue and MLK Street due to a sinkhole.

County officials said on Friday 1,500 people are still in shelters. They’re working on step-down alternative locations, so they can reopen the schools now serving as shelters.

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