All quiet on the eastern Manatee front following Hurricane Helene

As Manatee County Public Safety Director Jodie Fiske pleaded with residents on Friday morning to "stay home and do not go out and be a disaster tourist," Lakewood Ranch area residents were out and about cleaning up downed palm fronds and branches.

East County was spared the devastation that Hurricane Helene wreaked on so many Florida communities, as the outer bands of the eventual Category 4 hurricane did little more than deliver a windy, rainy day in the Lakewood Ranch area.

Fiske said western Manatee "saw devastating damage on our beaches, and we had significant flooding throughout the county."

While Lakewood Ranch residents were still recovering from Hurricane Debby that caused widespread flooding on Aug. 4-5, they were spared a second consecutive knockout blow.

Photo by Jay Heater

Tony Olivero, who works for Main Street at Lakewood Ranch, was piling up debris from the storm on Friday morning and he said it mostly was minor — palm fronds, tree limbs and blowing garbage.

Volunteers Dave Bailey and Jim Cox were moving a downed tree off a sidewalk in front of the Il Villaggio neighborhood on State Road 64 in East County. They said they only had had two downed trees in the neighborhood.

At Fort Hamer Park in East County, the Manatee River had swollen so much that water almost reached the rowing facility. A coach noted that even during Hurricane Debby, which was a far greater rain event, the water hadn't come as close to the facility. It was testament to Hurricane Helene's incredible storm surge.

The docks already had been ruined by Hurricane Debby so the county, which owns the facility, will have to make repairs there. It will land on a very long list.

"This is going to be an incredibly long term recovery operation," Fiske said. "We already are working to get resources from the state."

The situation could have been dire in Myakka City on Thursday night, but a string of potential tornadoes never developed as the swirling winds headed directly at Myakka City from the south.

Photo by Jay Heater

Manatee County reported peak storm surges of between 5 1/2 and 7 feet at various data points throughout the county. Emergency operators answered more than a thousand 911 calls. Manatee County emergency crews responded to more than 400 calls for service. First responders evacuated more than 300 people from locations on Anna Maria Island and in Palmetto, along with unincorporated areas of the county. More than 4,200 calls came into the 311 information line during Helene's passage.

According to the county, Lake Manatee was dropped to a pre-storm level of 36.5 feet and currently is at 37.03 feet, or about a foot lower than normal for this time of year.