- September 27, 2024
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Sarasota County police and fire officials said while the skies are clearing, the work of rescues and assessments after Hurricane Helene are continuing.
“This is not over,” Sarasota County Fire Chief David Rathbun said a Friday news conference on Siesta Key.
“There are still flood waters, there are a number of people without power. There are likely power lines down.”
The extent of the damage is not yet known, but County Commissioner Mark Smith said Siesta Key Village was hit hard. “The businesses in the village are wiped out,” Smith said.
“The water was a good three feet high. Picnic tables floated from the center of the village all the way down to Truist Bank,” he said. “It’s dangerous; it’s extremely dangerous.”
Smith said his own architectural office was damaged, with about two feet of water inside. “My house is at nine feet. And we made it by a foot,” he said.
“There’s a lot of property damage. Siesta Village is wiped right now. It’s going to take a while for it to come back.”
Smith said he saw home and business owners digging out Friday morning. He described it as a grim scene. “They’re not singing. It’s pretty somber.”
Rathbun said firefighters were as prepared as they could be before the storm hit. “Obviously, it was dark when the storm surge approached and that made it very dangerous for us to go out,” he said.
“Areas had water of six feet where our vehicles could not go through, so unfortunately those residents who chose to stay behind had to tough it out until the waters began to recede.”
Police and firefighters were still performing rescues as late as Friday morning, according to Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Community Affairs Director Evan Keats. “It’s going to go on until we address all the concerns that we know about.”
Keats said at the height of the storm, rescues were impossible. “Once the winds hit 45 mph, our deputies are not risking themselves to go out and find those rescues,” he said. “When the winds die down and the water levels recede, or at least plateau, that we feel safe that we can go out there and get those people out, that’s what we’re doing.”
While Siesta Key was open Friday only to residents and business owners, Longboat and Lido keys were still off-limits to everyone.
Tim Dorsey, the county assistant fire chief for special operations, said there is no timetable for when residents will be able to return.
The county is working with the affected jurisdictions, including Longboat Key police and fire departments, Sarasota Police and city governments. “It’s up to the crews and city personnel as to when they’ll allow that to happen, and we’re not there yet.”
Smith, who has lived on Siesta Key since 1994, said Helene was one of the worst storms he experienced. “This is the worst, as far as storm surge,” he said.
Smith said there was one bright spot from Helene. “Midnight Pass is open again,” he said.
Midnight Pass, a naturally formed inlet separating Siesta and Casey Keys, was filled in in the 1980s by Siesta Key beachfront residents to protect their homes from destruction due to erosion.
Critics say closing the pass has degraded the water quality of Sarasota Bay and have fought, unsuccessfully, to reopen it.
“Midnight Pass strikes again,” Smith said, adding the pass may not stay open long. “We’ll see how long it can maintain with the tide going out.”
Later on Friday, the city of Sarasota announced that water service would be restored to Bird Key residents by mid-afternoon with a precautionary boil water advisory in effect.
The Utilities Department anticipates restoring water service to Siesta Key by the end of the day, also with a precautionary boil water advisory.
When flooding recedes on St. Armands and Lido Key, crews will access the distribution system and determine when water service will be restored, the announcement said.
Water service to the barrier islands was shutoff early Thursday morning in advance of Hurricane Helene as a proactive measure to protect the integrity of the community’s utilities infrastructure.
