Lee County officials held Facebook Live update ahead of Milton

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Lee County
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The Lee County Public Safety Director, Ben Abes, and the county commissioners provided updates regarding Tropical Storm Milton.

Abes held a Facebook Live event to discuss updates in lieu of an in-person meeting on Sunday at 12 p.m. on the Lee County Government Facebook page.

They provided updates ahead of Tropical Storm Milton, which is expected to strengthen into a hurricane in less than 24 hours.

The Emergency Operations Center has activated to level 2, or partial activation. They plan to activate to level 1 on Monday morning.

A state of local emergency for Milton has been signed and is in effect immediately.

Milton is expected to increase to a hurricane by the time it approaches Florida’s coast, and with SWFL in its forecast cone, impacts can be expected along the coastline.

This includes the possibility of life-threatening storm surge.

County offices will be open Monday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and remain closed through Thursday. On Thursday, decisions will be made about whether operations will resume on Friday.

Currently, no evacuation orders are in place. However, the evacuation call is anticipated to be ordered as soon as Monday, and no later than Tuesday morning.

You do not have to wait for the evacuation order to be issued to go somewhere safer.

General population shelters are expected to open Monday afternoon for those still recovering from Hurricanes Helene and Ian. The shelters will be fully opened on Tuesday. Not all shelters listed on the website will be open. Check out their website here for information about shelters that are open and their capacity.

Additionally, a shelter for individuals with special needs will be opening Monday afternoon.

Transportation to the shelters will be available once opened.

The county’s mission to clean up the debris following Helene will continue into Tuesday or as long as weather conditions permit. If you have additional Hurricane Helene debris, hold onto it to allow crews to focus on picking up what’s already on the curb.

Solid waste pickup will cease after Tuesday for the remainder of the week. Updates can be found on their website or their social media.

Sandbags are available through your local Fire Department; consult their social media or our WINK News article here.

Abes is urging everyone to review their safety plans with their families and ensure that they have a plan in place in the event of an emergency.

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