Hurricane Ian: Sarasota Evacuations, Siesta, Ringling Bridge Closures

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Wednesday as a powerful Category 4 storm, bringing with it 155 mph winds and prompting the National Weather Service to issue an extreme wind warning for Sarasota and southeastern Manatee counties.

Nearly 1.3 million Florida homes and businesses were without power Wednesday evening and the number keeps climbing. In Sarasota County, more than 232,000 of about 287,000 Florida Power & Light customers were without power as of 6 p.m.

"We are watching, waiting, discussing operations and will be ready to launch the recovery phase of Hurricane Ian," the city of Sarasota tweeted. "Our First-In Teams will head out to begin damage assessments and clearing roads as soon as sustained winds drop below 45 mph and it’s deemed safe."

Live Updates:

• Hurricane Ian: 1.2M Without Power, 'Big One' Makes Landfall As Cat. 4

Earlier Wednesday, Sarasota County officials called for the evacuation of Level A and B zones, which includes barrier islands, mobile homes and those living on vessels, according to a news release from the county.

County water services to the barrier islands, Siesta and Casey keys, were shut off after 5 p.m. Tuesday. Meanwhile, city water services were shut off by 7 p.m., the city said.

Find your evacuation zone here.

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General population evacuation centers opened Tuesday at noon at the following locations throughout the county:

• Atwater Elementary School, 4701 Huntsville Ave., North Port
• Booker High School, 3201 N Orange Ave., Sarasota
• Brookside Middle School, 3636 S Shade Ave., Sarasota
• Fruitville Elementary School, 601 Honore Ave., Sarasota
• Gulf Gate Elementary School, 6500 S Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota
• Heron Creek Middle School, 6501 W Price Blvd., North Port
• North Port High School, 6400 W Price Blvd., North Port
• Phillippi Shores Elementary School, 4747 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
• Riverview High School, 1 Ram Way, Sarasota
• Southside Elementary School,1901 Webber Street, Sarasota
• Taylor Ranch Elementary School, 2500 Taylor Ranch Trail, Venice
• Woodland Middle School, 2700 Panacea Blvd., North Port

Transportation will be provided to those who can’t drive to an evacuation center by Sarasota County Area Transit and school district buses. Learn more here.

Stay up-to-date by viewing all Hurricane Ian coverage on Patch here.

Here’s other important information about closures, prepping for the storm and how services are being impacted in the Sarasota area.

Closures

Sarasota County Schools closed Tuesday to allow for time to prepare schools serving as emergency evacuation centers, according to a news release from the district.

“As the storm approaches, we are here to serve our community with our schools and personnel to provide sheltering. We will continue to communicate updates with employees and families throughout the storm as information becomes available,” said Dr. Brennan Asplen, superintendent.

Schools will remain closed until further notice, potentially through Thursday.

All public libraries closed Monday afternoon.

Regular county operations have closed. City of Sarasota offices closed at noon Tuesday, as well. Conditions permitting, they’ll open Friday at 8 a.m., the city said.

Westbound travel lanes on the Siesta and John Ringling Causeway bridges closed to non-residents at 3 p.m. on Tuesday and to all vehicles at 8 p.m., the city said. After this, entry to the islands will be restricted. Residents who need to travel to their home should bring identification.

Residential Trash, Recycling Pick-Up

All solid waste collection services provided by the county have been canceled for Wednesday and Thursday. The central county landfill will also be closed those days.

The city of Sarasota has suspended trash, recycling and yard waste pickups for Wednesday and Thursday. Residential collections scheduled for Thursday will be picked up on Friday and regularly scheduled Friday collections will be deferred to Saturday.

Transit

County transit will offer of fare-free services on Tuesday.

Buses won’t be in service Wednesday. A decision about whether they’ll run Thursday will be announced later.

Sarasota 311

Sarasota County 311 will be open until 10 p.m. on Tuesday and will transition to 24-hour operations Wednesday at 7 a.m.