St. Lucie County Hurricane Milton Update No. 3

Published on October 09, 2024

ST. LUCIE COUNTY – Due to the potential for hurricane force winds, St. Lucie County will close access to North and South Hutchinson Island starting at 8 p.m. today. Law enforcement will block access over the bridges for all traffic including residents of North and South Hutchinson Island, until the storm passes and the bridges have been inspected.

St. Lucie Public Schools and the district office will be closed through Friday, Oct. 11, as schools are being used as emergency shelters. Monday, Oct. 14 is a pre-scheduled teacher workday. Students will return on Tuesday, Oct. 15. Hurricane shelters at Fort Pierce Westwood Academy and Treasure Coast High Schools are open as pet-friendly and general population shelters. Both facilities have plenty of accommodations, if residents need a shelter of last resort. St. Lucie County Public Schools continue collaborating with the St. Lucie County Emergency Operations Center to determine shelter needs.

St. Lucie County’s public transit, ART (Area Regional Transit), will suspend fixed route and on-demand service at noon today (Wednesday, Oct. 9) and remain closed through Thursday, Oct. 10. ART plans to reopen Friday (Oct. 11) morning, weather permitting. For additional information, visit www.slcart.org or call 772-462-1778.

St. Lucie County offices, libraries and attractions are closed through Thursday, Oct. 10. All events and programs, including outside events hosted at county facilities, have been canceled. 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.

FCC and Waste Pro will be running normal routes today (Wednesday, Oct. 9) until winds reach 35 mph sustained. FCC and Waste Pro will suspend service 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 (Wednesday, Oct. 9).

The St. Lucie County Landfill and Recycling Facility 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 5 p.m. (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). 

As of noon today (Wednesday, Oct. 9), there were 118 residents in the three St. Lucie County shelters:

• 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.

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.  Additional information will be posted on St. Lucie County’s social media channels @stluciegov.