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Pinellas County offices, parks closed Friday, Sept. 27

Pinellas County Government offices and County parks and preserves will be closed to the public Friday, Sept. 27, while many employees respond to Hurricane Helene impacts. The closure includes all departments under the County Administrator, the Clerk’s Office, Tax Collector’s Office and Property Appraiser’s office.

County offices will reopen Monday, Sept. 30, if conditions are safe. Information about the reopening of County parks will be announced after staff assess damages and cleanup needs. The latest information can always be found at disaster.pinellas.gov.

Tropical force winds are expected throughout the county Thursday, as are downed trees, power outages and closed roads. Storm surge flooding from Hurricane Helene is expected to linger into early Friday, based on the latest forecasts.

Check with your hauler or municipality for information about trash pickup.

Latest storm/Incident developments

  • Hurricane Helene has strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane with 105 mph winds and is expected to continue strengthening before it makes landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida on Thursday evening.
  • Pinellas County remains under a Storm Surge Warning, Tropical Storm Warning, Hurricane Watch and Tornado Watch.

Pinellas County response/action

  • Pinellas County issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents in Zone A and all mobile homes countywide. This includes high-rise buildings in Evacuation Zone A, which will not be a safe place to ride out the storm. 
  • The Emergency Operations Center and County Information Center are open 24 hours to respond to the storm. Call (727) 464-4333. Residents who are deaf or hard of hearing can contact the CIC via online chat at www.bit.ly/PinellasChat.

Advice & Information for Residents

  • Whether you live in Evacuation Zone A or not, your neighborhood will likely flood Thursday-Friday if you experienced high waters during recent major storms or heavy rains this summer. Park on high ground. If floodwater begins entering your home, shut off water, gas service and electricity if possible. Don’t walk through flooded areas.
  • Monitor local news media, National Weather Service, pinellas.gov, Facebook @PinellasGov and Twitter @PinellasGov, search hashtag #PCHelene. Register for emergency alerts at pinellas.gov/alert-pinellas and download the new Ready Pinellas app in the App Store or Google Play store for real-time storm updates.