Polk County providing mutual aid to North Florida after Hurricane Helene

AUBURNDALE, Fla. - Polk County is avoiding a direct hit from Hurricane Helene, but officials and homeowners are still preparing for tropical storm conditions.

Dozens of residents in Auburndale picked up sand bags throughout the day on Wednesday to protect their homes and yards from flooding.

With the potential for a lot of rain, the county's emergency management operations team will be keeping an eye on areas that have historically flooded, especially the west side of the county.

READ: Tampa General Hospital protected by ‘AquaFence’ during Hurricane Helene: ‘We can’t evacuate’

"We opened our sandbag sites yesterday," said Paul Womble, the director of Polk County Emergency Management. "We gave out over 17,000 bags, and they're open again today. By way of comparison, we did over 12,000 the day we were opened in Debby, so more people coming to get those bags and were taking it seriously." 

Womble said he does expect scattered power outages and downed trees and power lines, though his biggest concern is the tornado threat as the storm bands move throughout the county.

"Any community can be overwhelmed," said Womble. "Unfortunately, this will be the third storm in two years for the Panhandle counties. They're smaller, and they don't necessarily have the resources." 

MORE: Crystal River braces for storm surge from Hurricane Helene

Which is why after the hurricane passes, emergency management and the Polk County Sheriff's Office will be providing mutual aid to north Florida, which includes a self-contained team of deputies, EMS, fire and mobile communications.  

"It's the right thing to do, and quite frankly, it's better to give help than to receive help," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "At this point in time, we're packed and ready to go. We're simply waiting on direction to see where they need our resources." 

The Peace River in Bartow was a concern after Hurricane Debby dropped a lot of water onto the county. However, officials said it's not forecast to go into flood stage at this time.

The sheriff said his crews will remain in North Florida to assist as long as there's a need. The county will not be opening shelters at this time based on the forecast. 

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