PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The Pinellas County barrier islands will reopen to the public Tuesday at 4 p.m. since Hurricane Helene sent floodwaters onto the coast.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and county emergency management staff are warning residents not to go out to the beach communities if they don’t need to be there.  

What You Need To Know

  • Barrier island reopen to the public at 4 p.m. Tuesday

  • Emergency management officials ask that you do not come unless you live or work in an island community 

  • 60+ deputies will be patrolling barrier island from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. 

  • Even with checkpoints, PSCO has already made multiple arrests for looting and stealing in beach communities 

The island communities still do not have power, and have issues with water access and sewer systems.

“We’re going to have a lot of response agencies out there, so you really don’t need to be out there. So please don’t go,” Emergency Management Director Cathie Perkins said.

Gualtieri plans to have at least 60 deputies out in the Gulf beach communities from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. to help keep the area safe. Deputies will be in marked vehicles and undercover cruisers as they patrol the barrier islands.

“If you want to come out here, it’s not going to work out real well if you want to do bad things and try to steal,” he said.

Deputies have been manning access points at each of the barrier island bridges for the last four nights, only allowing access to residents and registered contractors. Even with the restricted access, Gualtieri says they have already had looters in the area.

“We’ve already made arrests out here and have seen people trying to loot and we’re locking them up and putting them in jail,” he said. “This is not the time to mess around.”

Capt. Dylan Hubbard, who runs Hubbard’s Marina in John’s Pass, said when the bridges first reopen after a storm, it’s very overwhelming at first with the amount of people coming to take photos and try to talk with his team. The flip side, he said, is the support and helping hands that he and other businesses and homeowners will get.

“Once we get through that initial rush, then all of a sudden we’re able to get people down here. We have more people here, more hands on deck and as long as we can keep areas clear to work, then generally, the more the merrier and we can come together as a community and knock this out even faster,” Hubbard said.

If you need help to clean up, you can contact a volunteer agency at the Crisis Cleanup Hotline at (844) 965-1386.