St. Lucie County Hurricane Milton Update No. 2
Published on October 08, 2024
ST. LUCIE COUNTY – As Hurricane Milton continues to make its way toward Florida’s west coast, St. Lucie County is asking residents to finalize their hurricane preparations before the impacts are felt in our area as early as Wednesday, Oct. 9.
St. Lucie County officials, along with agency partners, will host a live update from the Douglas M. Anderson Emergency Operations Center today at 5 p.m. It will stream live on the county’s Facebook page www.Facebook.com/Stluciegov.
St. Lucie County’s public transit, ART (Area Regional Transit), will suspend fixed route and on-demand service at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 9, and remain closed through Thursday. ART plans to reopen Friday morning, weather permitting. For additional information, visit www.slcart.org or call 772-462-1778.
Following the storm, St. Lucie County reminds residents and businesses that unlicensed contractors from outside the area will be looking for those seeking speedy repairs. To avoid being taken advantage of or stuck with repairs/fines that you are responsible for, you should:
- Always hire a licensed contractor,
- Get at least three written quotes for any job,
- Never put down more than a 10 percent deposit.
To verify a license, you can visit www.MyFloridaLicense.com, and click verify a license or email St. Lucie County’s Contractor Licenses Division at johnsonrox@stlucieco.org. If residents have questions, please contact the St. Lucie County Contractor Licensing staff at 772-462-1672.
Unlicensed building activities will be a high priority following a natural disaster. All routine code enforcement activities will be redirected to concentrate solely on unlicensed activities in the community and building inspectors will also be part of the team.
St. Lucie County offices, libraries and attractions will be closed Wednesday, Oct. 9 and Thursday, Oct. 10. Library programs and buildings will close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 8. All events and programs, including outside events hosted at county facilities, have been canceled for these days. Additionally, the Trunk or Treat / Tunnel of Terror Halloween event at the Fenn Center, scheduled for Friday, Oct. 11 and Saturday, Oct. 12, has been postponed.
St. Lucie County would like to clarify recent information regarding Gov. Ron DeSantis' executive order issued on Oct. 5, which ordered landfills in counties impacted by Hurricane Helene to remain open for the disposal of storm debris. This executive order does not apply to St. Lucie County, as St. Lucie County has not been directly impacted by Hurricane Helene.
FCC and Waste Pro will be running normal routes today (Tuesday, Oct. 8) and Wednesday, Oct. 9, until winds reach 35 mph sustained. FCC and Waste Pro will suspend serviced on Thursday, Oct. 10. FCC customers whose normal collection day is Thursday will be collected Friday, Oct. 11 (Friday customers will be collected Saturday). For Waste Pro customers whose normal collection day is Thursday; they will be serviced on Monday, Oct. 14. The City of Fort Pierce will have normal collections today and Wednesday, Oct. 9. The City of Fort Pierce will decide on Thursday’s operations at a later time.
The St. Lucie County Landfill and Recycling Facility will be open Wednesday, Oct. 9, until Waste Pro and FCC are no longer able to operate safely. The landfill will be closed Thursday, Oct. 10, and will resume normal operations on Friday, Oct. 11. The landfill will have extended hours on Saturday, Oct. 12, until 5pm (normal hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Residents with questions about the storm should call the county’s public information lines at 772-460-HELP (4357) from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 8 and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting Wednesday, Oct. 9 until necessary.
St. Lucie Public Schools will be closed Tuesday, Oct. 8 through Thursday, Oct. 10. In partnership with the Florida Department of Health and St. Lucie Public Schools, St. Lucie County will be opening the following shelters on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 2 p.m.:
- Fort Pierce Westwood Academy (General Population/Pet-Friendly Shelter): 1801 Panther Lane in Fort Pierce
- Treasure Coast High School (General Population/Pet-Friendly Shelter): 1000 SW Darwin Blvd. in Port St. Lucie
- Havert L. Fenn Center (Medical Special Needs Shelter): 2000 Virginia Ave. in Fort Pierce
Residents with special medical needs or pets who may need to seek temporary shelter should pre-register at: https://www.stlucieco.gov/departments-and-services/public-safety/shelter-evacuation-info.
St. Lucie County’s Planning and Development Services staff urges all contractors to secure their job sites immediately. All debris, trash, equipment and construction materials should be removed from construction sites until the storm passes. Residents with construction site concerns should report construction sites to Code Compliance. Please note that new state laws make it so that code complaints are no longer anonymous and your report will be part of the public record. https://www.stlucieco.gov/departments-and-services/planning-and-development-services/code-compliance/report-a-code-violation. Political, business and other yard signs should also be removed prior to the storm making landfall.
For information about storm preparations and any protective actions issued to the public, please visit St. Lucie County’s Emergency Management portal at www.readystlucie.org.