Clearwater barrier islands reopen after Hurricane Helene

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — Clearwater officials announced that its barrier islands would reopen to the public Tuesday afternoon after from Hurricane Helene.

The barrier islands were set to reopen at 4 p.m. Tuesday after significant cleanup efforts, according to City Manager Jennifer Poirrier.

“Now our crews will change their focus to do the finer touches in our cleanup efforts, and we will shift the debris cleanup and the laborious task of sifting and cleaning sand from the staging areas to our private contractors,” Poirrier said. “As this occurs, it will get us closer to returning to normal.”

However, while the barrier islands have reopened for residents and recovery teams, officials warned non-residents to not come to out of a “morbid curiosity” to see what the beaches look like.

“To do so would be at the detriment of our residents and our business owners that have already lost so much,” Poirrier said. “It would also get in the way of our recovery efforts and the electricity crews.”

Clearwater police Chief Eric Gandy said officers will increase their anti-looting patrols to help protect people’s property in hurricane-hit zones.

“We’re going to do a full court press on the law enforcement presence during the day and overnight,” Gandy said. “It’s a significant challenge for us to maintain security in that environment.”

A checkpoint will also be maintained at the North Beach entrance at the Acacia Roundabout to restrict access to residents, barrier island pass holders, and those with “legitimate business” at a residence.

“The reason for that is the roads north of the Acacia are exceptionally narrow,” Gandy said. “With folks clearing out their homes in preparation for rebuilding, there are mounds of household items and garbage on the side of the roads. There’s still standing debris in the roads. We have to have emergency vehicle access, and we have to have the ability to respond rapidly for that reason.”

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