Polk County avoids worst of Idalia. No major damage, but about 11,000 lost power

Polk County avoided major damage from Hurricane Idalia late Tuesday and early Wednesday, and electric crews were quickly restoring power to about about 11,000 customers who lost electricity during the worst of the storm overnight.

People who had hunkered down in Polk County hurricane shelters were starting to go home by 9 a.m. Wednesday − less than two hours after Hurricane Idalia made landfall nearly 200 miles away.

“We had about 130 or so folks in our shelters, and they're in the process of getting them back home this morning,” said Paul Womble, emergency management director for Polk County.

“Our priority today is to get the folks that were in shelters, especially the special need shelters … and the folks that were in the schools, and make sure they've got a safe place to go back to so they can get the schools checked out and cleaned up and ready for school when they reopen.”

The Polk County Public Schools system reported classes will resume by Friday, according to an online statement by Superintendent Frederick Heid. As planned earlier this week, schools and offices will remain closed Wednesday and Thursday. In all, the district housed 113 hurricane evacuees overnight.

“Polk County has been very fortunate to have been spared the brunt of Hurricane Idalia,” Heid said in the message. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are in the direct path of this storm, knowing full well what issues they are facing.

“Although we had minor impacts to our area, we still need time to do a thorough assessment of our school sites to make sure they are ready for students and staff to return,” Heid said. “We also need to deactivate our shelters and prepare those schools to resume normal operations.”

Once potential tornado watches have ended, which is expected by this afternoon, the district’s maintenance staff will start to inspect school sites that were used as shelters to ensure that they have power and did not sustain damage to their roofs or windows.

Checks will be needed to determine whether debris removal is needed or whether there were any impacts from localized flooding or water intrusion.

The school district monitors power outages for several reasons, including potential negative impacts on its information technology network and refrigeration units at its schools.

Live updates: Hurricane Idalia roars over wide swath of Florida; water inundating communities

“Thus far, we have no reported outrages, which is a good indication that we have power at all sites,” Heid said.

Brief tornado scares

Womble, at the county's emergency management center, said he has not received any reports of emergencies throughout the county needing first responders on scene from the hurricane. 

“We've had no reports of damage or flooding so far,” he said just before 10 a.m. Wednesday.

There were some brief scares, however, as the operations center received tornado warnings five times in the early hours of Wednesday. He said some of the rain bands that came across the southeast portion of the county were responsible for the warnings.

“But they were short-lived and did no damage,” Womble said. Regarding rain, he said it was minimal so far, but he expected rain to continue throughout the day, so rainfall amounts will be watched closely. 

Hurricane Idalia made landfall at 7:45 a.m. near Keaton Beach as a powerful Category 3 storm. Maximum sustained winds were 125 mph when the eye moved onshore, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Earlier Wednesday morning, Idalia briefly reached Category 4 status with 130-mph winds.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District continues to monitor potential flooding along the Peace River Basin, which was heavily flooded last year during Hurricane Ian.

“Right now, the Southeast River Forecast Center predicts on Thursday that the Peace River at Arcadia will enter “Action” stage (near flood stage) and Horse Creek will enter “Minor Flood Stage,” said Susanna Martinez Tarokh, public information officer for SFWMD.

About 11,000 lose power throughout Polk County

Lakeland Electric had 10,019 customers lose power are result of the storm, according to LE spokeswoman Cathryn Lacy. As of 8 a.m., the municipal utility's power outage map showed a handful of outages affecting less than 200 customers. The largest remaining outage affecting about 150 customers off Yates Road in Southwest Lakeland was fixed by 9 a.m.

Lacy said LE's reported power outage numbers could continue to fluctuate throughout Wednesday as Idalia's outer bands of heavy rain and wind pass through the area.

The largest clump of outages remaining in Polk on Wednesday morning were in Duke Energy's service area in an area around Dundee and Lake Hamilton. At 8 a.m., 505 customers were affected. That had diminished to just over 280 by 11 a.m. Ninety others were reported in north Lake Wales around Mountain Lake.

By 11 a.m., TECO's largest outage in Polk County was in Lake Alfred, affecting about 15 customers.

Helping in North Florida

With little reported damage in Polk County from Hurricane Idalia, some electrical workers were preparing to provide relief elsewhere.

Lakeland Electric was sending three line crews and one service crew to Tallahassee on Wednesday to assist in power restorations.

A team of seven from the Bartow Electrical Utility awaited a call Wednesday from the Florida Municipal Electric Association to find out whether they would be assigned to mutual aid efforts elsewhere in Florida, Director Brad Hiers said. If needed, those workers would join employees from Fort Meade and Wauchula to create a team of 12, Hiers said.

“There are a lot of utilities on standby around the state, but if we’re needed, we're ready to go,” Hiers said. “We have our trucks checked out right now in service, and our guys are packed for seven days.”

Hiers said Bartow’s team included five line workers, a tree trimmer and a mechanic. They were prepared to take bucket trucks and digger derrick trucks to provide assistance. Cities are not obligated to supply the association with emergency crews, Hiers said.

“You are not required, but after receiving help for Ian, Irma, Charlie, Francis and Jeanne, we feel it's our duty to respond accordingly if we're needed, so we're always ready to assist,” Hiers said.

Bartow sent mutual aid crews to Tallahassee after Hurricane Hermine in 2016 and to Quincy, in the Panhandle, after Hurricane Michael in 2018, Hiers said.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday it was sending an "emergency self-contained rescue team" to Levy County to help with search and rescue operations and make service calls.

No significant damage from Hurricane Idalia could be seen Wednesday morning in downtown Lakeland or the southern part of the city.

A City of Lakeland truck was stopped on Beacon Road at Cleveland Heights Boulevard about 9 a.m., as workers in yellow raincoats toiled at a storm drain. Lakeland spokesperson Kevin Cook said that city workers were engaged in routine clearing of storm drains that began Monday and had nothing to do with the hurricane.

As outer bands from Hurricane Idalia brought periodic bursts of heavy rain, a sole woman ran along the Lake Hollingsworth Trail near the Lakeland Country Club. During a lull in the rains, a man could be seen walking two dogs on the trail.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk suffers no major damage from Idalia, but about 11,000 lose power