Orange County mayor provides Hurricane Helene updates

Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings provided residents with Hurricane Helene updates at a press conference, which took place at 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at the Orange County Emergency Operations Center in Winter Park.

The mayor, as well as representatives from the Orange County Office of Emergency Management, Orange County Public Works, Orange County Utilities, Orlando Utilities Commission, Duke Energy and Orange County Public Schools provided information on the county’s storm readiness and preparations.

"We're pretty fortunate, at this time, that we have faired relatively well in dealing with the storm, but it's not over," Demings said. "In fact, just about 45 minutes ago, we were on a conference call with the National Weather Service, and they said to us that really the most significant period of time related to this storm will continue till about 2 a.m. tonight or, in other words, early tomorrow morning. As a result of that, what we're saying to our residents is you've got to stay vigilant at this point. While we are fortunate that we're not having any direct impacts from Hurricane Helene, we do have some secondary potential impacts; those are tornadoes. So, we want to get through that period of time."

Demings said the county still is concerned about the potential winds that could impact the community. 

"In fact, the National Weather Service said that the forecast calls for sustained winds of 25 to 35 miles per hour," he said. "We're going to monitor that very closely, because that is, at 35 mph, (when) our LYNX and some of our first responder units make a determination whether or not to continue responding. So, up to about 2 a.m. tonight, that remains a critical period of time for all of us in our response mode."

The National Weather Service also told the county residents could potentially see another one to two inches of rainfall during that period of time. 

Demings said all municipalities in Orange County, as well as the county courts, plan to reopen Sept. 27 for normal operation.

UTILITIES

Lisa Curran, representative from Duke Energy, reported minimal outages.

"We're staying ready and prepared to restore power to your home and businesses as quickly and safely as possible," she said. "We're committed to keeping our customers informed about the status of restoration efforts, and we will continue to provide regular updates. ... Be vigilant and considerate during this time, as this storm is still passing. Safety is of the upmost importance to us at Duke Energy."

Jenise Osani, vice president of marketing and new products at OUC, also reported minimal outages to its service areas.

"Rest assured that OUC prepares for storm season all year long," she said. "Safety is very important to OUC. For our customers, for our employees and OUC. We're asking, as well, that you please stay away from downed power lines. In addition to avoiding anything that's come in contact with the ground or trees, please stay away from pooled water. It can become energized and is very dangerous. We ask our customers to keep their children and their pets monitored, as well, in case they're outside playing. ... Please stay safe."

OCPS

Scott Howat, chief communications officer for Orange County Public Schools, said all schools will reopen Sept. 27, and all extracurricular activities will resume as scheduled, unless determined otherwise by the school. 

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Lauraleigh Avery, director of Orange County Emergency Management, asked residents to stay off the roadways, to continue to monitor local news media and to make sure they stay safe.

"I can't stress enough that we are just now entering the phase where the winds are going to impact Orange County," she said.  

SHELTER

Orange County's shelters will continue to remain open.

As of about 2:30 p.m. Sept. 26, the county had about 78 people in the general population shelters. 

The shelters for residents who have special needs also will remain open. There are 10 people currently utilizing those shelters. 

The county plans to leave the shelters open till about 7:30 a.m. Sept. 27.

LYNX

Since the wind speeds have not yet picked up, the LYNX system still is running. 

The bus service organization is continuing to monitor the wind speeds moving forward. 

SANDBAGS

Orange County distributed more than 32,000 sandbags to residents in need ahead of the storm. 

"It really became obvious to us that there were people concerned about localized flooding within this community, because they took advantage of the sandbag distribution here within Orange County," Demings said. "There have been numerous neighborhoods, unfortunately, over the wet summer that have experienced localized flooding. Many of them are really concerned about the storm and the potential impact on their neighborhoods. Most, if not all at this point, have faired fairly well because of the precautions that our public works and our utilities have taken at the point. So, we see minimal impact in our neighborhoods around Orange County."

FIRE RESCUE

"Our Fire Rescue Department has continued to be at a high level of readiness, but I did want to report that we will be dispatching about 25 of our fire personnel to the Big Bend area to assist with the recovery efforts at an appropriate time," Demings said. "So, our community will be able to help those in need, as well."

TRASH PICKUP

The makeup day for Orange County Utilities customers will be Sept. 28. 

For updated information and resources, click here.

Those who wish to watch the full video update can click here.

To read the previous update from Demings on Sept. 25, click here.