Hurricane Irma Cleanup Begins For Tampa Bay Residents, Businesses

CLEARWATER, FL — Tampa Bay residents awoke Monday morning feeling they had dodged a bullet from Hurricane Irma. The massive storm moved to the east, resulting in only a glancing blow. Residents began cleaning up the tree debris in their yards or feeling blessed that a fallen tree had missed their home. Some businesses were removing plywood from their windows in hopes of opening soon.

No deaths from Irma were reported in the Tampa Bay area. Bay area residents were hoping for a quick return to normalcy. Traffic was picking up on the roadways despite warnings from authorities to stay home. Law enforcement officials were at many of the major intersections, directing traffic. At others, drivers played a game of, “you go, no you go” as some intersections with non-working traffic lights became four-way stops.

Hillsborough County authorities were reporting about 12 homes heavily damaged by falling trees. St. Petersburg and Tampa had lifted curfews.

Along Gulf To Bay Boulevard, the majority of restaurants, even the fast-food variety, remained closed. The only damage to businesses appeared to be signs that had blown down. No information available yet on when residents might get a Big Mac or a Starbucks coffee. (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Tampa Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Watch: Safety Harbor Neighborhood Escapes Major Damage

Anita Ramaciere, owner of the Orange Motel on Gulf To Bay, was dealing with a lack of power Monday afternoon. “We had power all through the storm and then it went out about an hour ago,’’ she said.

Her motel’s sign lay in pieces near the pool. She was hoping to get a replacement but was told that she might have to settle on a smaller version because city codes had changed.

“We had some pretty good gusts of wind and some debris flying around,” she said of her experience with Irma. “We had a fence fall down in the back.”

In Safety Harbor, Dale Kane said he felt blessed that his home only sustained some branches down and loss of power. He was cleaning up tree debris Monday afternoon.

Kane said his home is not in an evacuation zone so his family decided to stay. “We just rode it out. I’ve been through many hurricanes in North Carolina and I knew a Category 2 wasn’t going to be a bad as everybody thought it could be so I was pretty comfortable staying here,” he said.

“We are just glad it is out of here, Kane said.

“We checked on a couple of (our neighbors) this morning. A couple of them left because they were a little nervous. But they are back now and they are cleaning up like we are,” he said.

The Orange Motel sign lays in pieces near Gulf To Bay Boulevard.

Photo by Patch Editor Don Johnson