| StrmTrckrMiami |
| (Weather Guru) |
| Mon Aug 18 2008 02:59 PM |
|
Re: Preparations, Closings and Conditions in Your Area
|
2:03pm Update:
The area is getting prepared:
• Lee and Collier County schools will be closed Tuesday.
• Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties have declared states of emergency. In addition, a mandatory curfew was being discussed by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and the sale of alcohol will be limited.
• A voluntary evacuation is in effect for Sanibel, Captiva, Fort Myers Beach, Bonita Beach, Pine Island and Boca Grande. The Sanibel Island City Council will reconvene at 4 p.m. today to make further decisions based on the track of the advancing storm, said Judie Zimomra, city manager.
• Some shelters have been opened in both counties.
• Southwest Florida International Airport managers will decide late this afternoon when and if it will close. As of 11 a.m., the only canceled flights were Continental Connection’s to Key West.
On Bonita Beach, only a very small smattering of condos had their shutters rolled down. On the beach itself, inch-high waves from a still-as-glass Gulf of Mexico lapped at the shoreline in front of Doc’s Beach House.
All fire districts are getting an extra supply of sandbags today.
As of 9:30 this morning, the Iona McGregor Fire District was the only station with sandbags.
Electric companies were poised to react quickly.
At Florida Power and Light, crews around Florida and from outside the state are ready to be deployed, spokesman Mayco Villafana said.
The Lee County Electric Cooperative has 250 technicians ready for Fay’s aftermath. More than half the crew comes from outside the company with workers coming as far away as North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, according to LCEC spokesperson Karen Ryan.
The additional line workers and tree-trimming crews arrived in their own bucket trucks. LCEC, Ryan said has several gasoline tankers filled to keep the fleet fueled and two helicopters to monitor the situation.
LCEC is also staffing its customer support center, which will be on around the clock. Company officials ask that people don’t call the call center to tell them the power is out.
“If the entire neighborhood is out of power, we know,†Ryan said. “There’s no need to call.â€
Customers should call the company at (239) 995-2121 only for an emergency, such as an electrical fire or a downed power line.
“Treat every downed line as if it were energized,†Ryan said.
The Emergency Operations Center in Lee County will open four locations as public shelters, beginning at 4 p.m. They are:
South Fort Myers High School (capacity 2,500. This is also the only shelter allowing pets), Dunbar High School (capacity 500), Islands High School (capacity 3,000), Estero Community Center (capacity 2,500).
Harborside in downtown Fort Myers will open at noon as a special needs shelter, capacity of about 300. A person must be preregistered to gain access to this shelter.
One death has been reported in preparation of the storm from Hurricane Shutters.