CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Although Clay County was largely spared major impacts from Ian, officials warned residents to use caution as they returned to their homes following the lifting of evacuation orders on Friday.
County officials and work crews went out Friday to assess the damage in the community, and Clay County Emergency Management Director John Ward said in a video release that officials are closely monitoring water levels in the river and Doctors Lake, which will be higher over the next few days.
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“A lot of that’s going to be from a lot of the rainfall draining from the significant rainfall in Central Florida coming up in the river,” he said.
As of 12:45 p.m. Friday, all Clay County shelters were closed and all evacuation orders had been lifted.
But Ward urged residents to use caution as the clean up process begins, particularly with removing downed trees.
“We generally see a lot of injuries and deaths post-storm from those type of injuries -- either getting wrapped up in power lines or chainsaw injuries,” he said.
For those needing to dispose of post-storm debris, all solid waste facilities, including Rosemary Hill will be closed Friday and are planned to reopen Saturday.
The Rosemary Hill Solid Waste Management Facility will be accepting residential yard waste at no charge from Saturday, Oct. 1 through Oct. 11, 2022, during normal operating hours of Monday through Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Residents must provide proof of residency with a driver’s license, lease, or utility bill. Commercial waste will be charged at normal rates. All yard waste transported in any type of commercial vehicle will be considered commercial.
Residents can bring residential waste to any of the county’s solid waste facilities when they reopen on Saturday.
Yard waste and trash pickups will resume as usual on Monday.
For any questions on yard debris, visit Alert.ClayCountyGov.Com.
“We were very lucky with this system, but I just want to say we have a month left in hurricane season,” Ward said. “Please don’t let your guard down. Keep your preparedness kits ready and keep your family plan in place at all times.”