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Tourism impacted after Hurricanes Helene, Milton leave devastating toll on Treasure Island

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Published  October 18, 2024 7:17pm EDT
Pinellas County
FOX 13 News

Treasure Island tourism on hold

Kylie Jones reports

TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. - The beach communities across the Tampa Bay area were some of the hardest hit areas by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Treasure Island officials said every facility in the city had water inside it.

The barrier islands in Pinellas County thrive off tourism, but the storms brought that business to a standstill.

"You drive around town, there’s still debris everywhere," Jason Beisel, the city’s public information officer, said.

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He said the island has had to cancel some of its annual events because of the extent of the damage.

"This time of year, we’d be getting ready for our Sanding Ovations festival," he said.

Beisel said contractors are working to clear debris, remove sand and restore the beach as quickly as possible. The city is asking people to stay off the beach while restoration work is going on.

"There’s still a lot of debris on there that has to be cleared off," Beisel said. "They have to sift through the sand, get the rakes out, because you don’t know what’s buried underneath there."

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He said more contractors have arrived, and crews are working around the clock to remove sand and restore the beaches. Beisel said a lot of homes in Sunset Beach had six feet of sand inside them.

"During the day, they’ll be sifting the sand, doing the cleaning process, rebuilding the dune system and putting sand back on the beach," Beisel said. "And at night, that’s when they’ll be clearing more of the roadways and right of ways."

He said crews have made progress with dune restoration in the south section of Sunset Beach, and are moving to the north section. The city said these sand removal crews are not able to clear sand from private property, and that it has to be handled by the property owners.

Beisel said crews are continuing to clear debris from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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Many of the homes, businesses, hotels and restaurants on Treasure Island are empty.

"It is my home, my livelihood, my community," Clyde Smith of the Bilmar Beach Resort said.

Smith has been with the Bilmar and Sloppy Joe’s Restaurant for almost two decades.

"It’s devastating," Smith said. "I’m 45 years in the hotel business, and I’ve never seen anything like this."

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Sloppy Joe’s Restaurant was able to reopen shortly after the storm, but the Bilmar suffered major damage on its first floor.

"The hotel, itself, was hit with a seven-foot wave," Smith said. "Took out our entire first level, our beach bar, our ballroom, our lobby, 27 guest rooms. It will be awhile before we rebuild that. But, our tower was left unaffected, so we were able to reopen Sloppy Joe’s within 48 hours."

Smith said it’s heartbreaking to look at the debris that came out of those hotel rooms sitting in front of the hotel, waiting to be picked up.

The Bilmar is now housing FEMA evacuees, but Smith said it will likely take weeks before they can open the hotel up to visitors. Smith said the community has rallied around each other after the storms.

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"We just need to keep that alive," Smith said. "It’s easy to do that right after the storm. It’s a month after the storm that you’ve got to be patient."

He’s trying to hold onto the spirit of the island, and remain hopeful as they get back on their feet.

"Revenues will come when they come, but right now, it’s just taking care of the people," Smith said.

There’s no exact timeline yet as to when the beach in Treasure Island will reopen, but crews are working to get it restored as quickly as possible.

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