HURRICANE IDALIA STORM UPDATE:  

Lake County, FL. – Lake County Emergency Management has released new details to help residents prepare for the oncoming storm. Please see below.

NEW INFORMATION:

• The Lake County Emergency Operations Center is now at a Level 1 – Full Scale Activation. 
• Lake County’s fixed route transit service, Ride LakeXpress, will suspend operations beginning today at 8 p.m. 
• Lake County will open emergency shelters according to the schedule below. Pet-friendly shelters are notated with asterisks (*). 
  • Shelters opening August 29 at 3 p.m. 
    • Villages Elementary – 695 Rolling Acres Rd, Lady Lake (special needs, pets, general population) * 
    • Lost Lake Elementary – 1901 Johns Lake Rd, Clermont (special needs, pets, general population) *
      
• Lake County will continue sandbag distribution at its six locations until 5 p.m. today and from 8 a.m. through noon. An additional sandbag distribution location is available at Lake County Fire Station 112 (Four Corners) at 16240 County Rd 474, Clermont. 

CLOSURES:

The following Lake County offices will be closed on Wednesday, August 30: 

• All offices of the Lake County Board of County Commissioners  
• The Tax Collector’s office  
• The Supervisor of Elections  
• Lake County Courts  
• The Lake County Clerk of Courts Office  
• Lake County Animal Services 
• Lake County Public Schools 

LIBRARIES:

• The following six branch libraries will close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29 and remain closed on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The libraries will reopen on Thursday, Aug. 31. 
  • Astor County Library 
  • Cagan Crossings Community Library (Four Corners) 
  • East Lake Mini Library (Sorrento) 
  • Marion Baysinger Memorial County Library (Groveland) 
  • Paisley County Library 
  • Cooper Memorial Library (Clermont) 
• Tavares Public Library will close at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29, and remain closed on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The library will reopen on Thursday, Aug. 31. 
• Leesburg Public Library will close at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29, and remain closed on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The library will reopen on Thursday, Aug. 31. 
• Marianne Beck Memorial Library will close at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29, and remain closed on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The library will reopen on Thursday, Aug. 31. 
• Eustis Memorial Library will close at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29, and remain closed on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The library will reopen on Thursday, Aug. 31. 
• Fruitland Park Library will close at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29, and remain closed on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The library will reopen on Thursday, Aug. 31. 
• Lady Lake Public Library will be closed on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The library will reopen on Thursday, Aug. 31. 
• Umatilla Public Library will be closed on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The library will reopen on Thursday, Aug. 31. 
• W.T. Bland Public Library will close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29, and remain closed on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The library will reopen on Thursday, Aug. 31. 
• Lady Lake Public Library will be closed from Wednesday, Sep. 28, through Friday, Sep. 30. 

SOLID WASTE:

Curbside collection for Lake County customers will be suspended on Wednesday, August 30. Services will shift forward one day beginning on Thursday. Customers who receive pick up services on Wednesdays will be collected on Thursday, Thursday customers will be picked up on Friday, and Friday customers will be picked up on Saturday. 

Lake County Waste Management will be closed on Wednesday. Customer Service will not be available until the offices reopen. 

For Tavares solid waste customers: 

• Tuesday collection operations are running as normal with expectations to complete all scheduled work by end of day 
• Collection will be suspended on Wednesday 
• If safe conditions exist on Thursday morning, all collection routes will commence at daybreak 

ONGOING INFORMATION:  

STATE OF EMERGENCY:  

Earlier today, the State of Florida included Lake County in its official State of Emergency. 

Visit http://www.floridadisaster.org to find information on emergency preparedness, shelters, road closures and evacuation routes.  

Shortly after the State of Emergency was declared, Lake County issued a local state of emergency to facilitate safety preparations and recovery actions post-storm.

SHELTERS:  

Two emergency shelters will open for residents tomorrow, Tuesday, August 29. The shelters will open to the public at 3:00 p.m. Both locations are special needs shelters and pet friendly. The locations of the shelters are: 

• Villages Elementary – 695 Rolling Acres Road, Lady Lake 
• Lost Lake Elementary – 1901 Johns Lake Road, Clermont 

SANDBAGS: 

The City of Clermont has opened an additional sandbag at the West Park ball fields in Clermont, 658 12th Street. The West Park location will be open Tuesday, August 29, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

Sandbags are available at seven Lake County locations beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, August 28. Residents must bring their own shovels and are limited to 10 bags of sand per household. Residents should bring their own shovels and are responsible for filling their own bags. Sandbags will only be offered before the storm – no sandbags will be dispensed once storm conditions begin. 

• East Lake Sports and Community Complex 
  • 24809 Wallick Rd, Sorrento, FL 32776 
• North Lake Regional Park 
  • 40730 Roger Giles Rd, Umatilla, FL 32784 
• Astor Fire Station 10 
  • 23023 State Road 40, Astor FL 32102  
• Minneola Athletic Complex 
  • 1300 Fosgate Road (13930 Education Ave) Minneola, FL 34715 
• PEAR Gateway Park (Front Entrance) 
  • 26701 US Hwy 27, Leesburg, FL 34748
• Four Corners Fire Station 112 
  • 16240 CR474, Clermont FL 34714 
• Hickory Point Recreation Complex 
  • 27315 SR 19, Tavares FL 32778