Tropical Storm Milton is expected to become a major hurricane in the coming days as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service predict the hurricane will make landfall on the west coast of Florida, remaining a major hurricane as it works its way eastward — but exactly where it will strike is not yet certain.
In a bulletin at 11 a.m. Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said: “Milton is expected to move slightly south of due east today in westerly flow from a shortwave trough over the northern Gulf of Mexico. The storm should then turn toward the northeast and accelerate towards the Florida peninsula on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
As a result, the storm’s forecast path has shifted southward, the agency said.
“Further adjustments southward may be necessary if the guidance trend continues.”
Local emergency officials have urged residents to take steps to protect their homes: bring patio furniture, put up hurricane shutters and assemble sandbags to place around the outside of your home.
Now is the time to prepare, Lee County Public Safety Director Ben Abes said Sunday during a briefing on Tropical Storm Milton. There are no evacuation orders yet, but that could very well change, he said. And while general population shelters are not open yet, special needs shelters will open Monday afternoon.
Where can you find sandbags in Collier County?
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North Collier Regional Park/Sun-N-Fun Lagoon contains NO sand and will no longer receive sand today.
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There are 60 tons of sand on the way to Donna Fiala Eagle Lakes Community Park, and once that’s gone, that location won’t receive any more sand today.
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Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park still has about 30 tons of sand available. Once that’s over, it won’t receive any more deliveries today.
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The supply of sandbags is starting to run out at all locations. If they have them, residents are encouraged to bring empty sandbags and shovels.
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150 tons of sand will be delivered on Monday at 10 a.m., 50 tons per location.
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Hurricane season is not over yet. Residents are encouraged to keep their sandbags stacked and out of the sun in case they are needed again this season.
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There are 51 counties under the governor’s state of emergency. They’re all looking for sand! We appreciate your patience!
Sandbag locations
Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park, 810 39th Ave. NE, Naples, at the North Collier Regional Park pickleball courts, 15000 Livingston Road, Naples, in the Sun-N-Fun Lagoon Donna Fiala Eagle Lakes Community Park parking lot, 11565 Tamiami Trail East, Naples, in the grassy area between the parking lots.
Where can you find sandbags in Lee County?
As supplies of sand and bags dwindle in Southwest Florida, people are coming from Fort Myers and Naples to Pine Island to fuel up. It doesn’t matter if they’re Islanders: “We’re not turning anyone away,” said Shane Oake at Station 1 in Pine Island Center.
Although there is a 20-bag limit, “we’ve already filled thousands and thousands of bags,” Oake said.
All three stations on the island are still being supplied, thanks to Steve Honc of Honc Industries, who has been trucking in sand.
Residents looking for sand can go to Station 1 at 5700 Pine Island Road. Sand will be available while it lasts. Sand is performed in the parking lot of Pine Island Little League. The Pine Island/Matlacha Fire District has urged anyone with questions to call them at (239) 283-0030.
Stations 2 and 3, located at 5015 Stringfellow Road in St. James City and 14861 Stringfellow Road in Bokeelia respectively, still have sand for residents to take away.
Residents must bring their own shovels. The sand is self-serve, so residents must be prepared to shovel it into bags themselves.
On Fort Myers Beach, the city has set up a sandbag station at City Hall. According to a Facebook post, there is sand along Gulf Beach Road and bags are available at the town hall, located at 2731 Oak Street.
Residents in the rest of Lee County looking for sandbags should contact their local fire departments, Lee County Public Information Officer Betsy Clayton said Sunday, as they coordinate sand pickups. Clayton added that more sand is on its way, but could not confirm who was supplying the sand.
To find the fire department serving their neighborhood, residents can enter their address into the resident information lookup tool at www.leegov.com.
This is a current news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Tropical Storm Milton: Where can you get sandbags in Collier and Lee?
