DeSantis beefs up Florida response to Hurricane Idalia

Eric Daugherty contributed to this report.

Editor’s Note: Hurricane Idalia has made landfall as a major hurricane early Wednesday morning in the Big Bend. This story is no longer being updated.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Preparations are finalizing as Hurricane Idalia is expected to reach landfall as a Category 3 storm in the Florida Big Bend region by Wednesday, per the National Hurricane Center.

Winds are forecasted to reach 115 mph.

Tuesday afternoon, DeSantis announced more than one million gallons of fuel are on standby to help with any fuel disruptions in light of the storm’s impacts.

He warned that tree debris will be a much larger problem because of the region of impact, compared to Hurricane Ian, which hit more densely populated Fort Myers and Southwest Florida.

The governor told Floridians to remain “vigilant” for any changes in the forecasted track. He said “nasty weather” will start to kick off Tuesday night into Wednesday.

DeSantis said in total, at least 30,000 linemen will be ready to restore electricity when it’s safe to do so.

Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie reminded Floridians that impacts from the projected Category 3 hurricane will range outside the National Hurricane Center’s cone, which as of Tuesday morning, centers north of Tampa to the eastern Panhandle.

Tuesday morning, Guthrie said to anticipate power outages, especially at landfall.

On fuel and potential gas shortages, Guthrie said Florida has “more than enough” fuel to address any current issues.

DeSantis noted that Florida has a large amount of resources staged and ready to respond to damage and destruction brought by Idalia.

Anticipating power outages, the Florida Department of Transportation has staged at least 1,000 generators to keep traffic signals running.

Tolls were also suspended by DeSantis Monday evening. The suspension began 4:00 a.m. ET Tuesday and will continue until Sep. 5 at noon.

Pinellas County issued mandatory evacuations to more than 330,000 residents in Zone A and mobile home parks countywide beginning at 7 p.m. Monday. Hillsborough County also issued a mandatory evacuation for Zone A.

“Our message from the state is to heed those warnings, particularly if you’re in the Zone A barrier islands, very low lying places, this is going to be something that you are going to face impacts of, even if the storm is off the coast here in the Tampa Bay area, you’re still going to see significant impacts from the surge,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis said the storm could shift further east or west and there will be “significant impacts” outside the cone, particularly in low lying areas like the barrier islands.

“We are here in Pinellas County, which is currently on the edge of the cone, according to the National Hurricane Center’s latest forecast, but that cone is subject to change,” DeSantis said.

“If you look at how the models are, there’s a general agreement on the track that it’s going to take, there’s a lot of agreement that it’s going to be somewhere between north of Tampa and Tallahassee, but anything that wobbles with this storm could could change that,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis said “pretty much anybody” on the west coast of Florida could see major impacts and to “please prepare accordingly.”

DeSantis said he spoke with President Joe Biden and the FEMA Director.

“Everybody is willing to work together to achieve the best outcome for the residents of Florida,” DeSantis said.

The governor said 35 bobtails and 15 tankers of fuel are in route to central Florida to pre-stage with a couple hundred thousand gallons of fuel.

“Floridians in the path of this storm, just be prepared to lose power,” DeSantis said.

“This is going to come in, if it’s Cat 3+, there’s going to be a lot of trees that are going to get knocked down there’s going to be a lot of debris that is going to interrupt the power lines. So just understand that that is something that’s going to happen,” the governor said during the morning press conference.

The governor urged local authorities accept assistance in staging linemen to ensure power can be restored as quickly as possible.

Sandbags are available at various locations throughout Hillsborough County and in Pinellas County. Orange County is also making sandbags available to residents.

A major hurricane from the National Hurricane Center means the storm will be at least a Category 3.

The cone could shift between the time of reporting and closer to landfall. Follow the National Hurricane Center and local authorities for the most real-time and important information for you.

DeSantis mobilized Florida Department of Law Enforcement teams, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission response groups to respond to damage and flooding, and Florida Highway Patrol troopers, among other state resources.

The governor declared a state of emergency for a large swath of Florida on Saturday.