HUDSON, Fla. — Entire neighborhoods in Pasco County were devastated by Hurricane Helene. Now, beyond the physical damage, power restoration has been a major concern there, with officials taking extra steps to prevent electrical fires.
Tuesday morning, a fire broke out off Sea Ranch Drive in Hudson, one of the areas hit hardest by storm surge. Pasco County Fire and Rescue closed the road there for hours as they responded to the blaze.
While unconfirmed by the fire inspectors, the family who lived in the home told 10 Tampa Bay the fire broke out minutes after power was restored there.
One of the family's neighbors, Jason Adler, said, "Everybody’s desperate, desperate for power, desperate for air conditioning. It’s hot, it’s miserable. I think it's leading people to make decisions they maybe shouldn't be making."
JP Murphy, Pasco County Assistant County Administrator said, "The last thing we want is for somebody to survive a flood only to have a house fire and lose everything."
Murphy and other county officials were spread across two information sites in New Port Richey and Hudson on Tuesday, sharing with residents that they have two options to get their power restored:
1) The county's preference, is that homeowners work with a certified electrician to have their home inspected, repaired and approved for power restoration. Once the electrician gives the county the go-ahead, the county will have the electric companies restore power to that home.
2) Homeowners may now sign a waiver recognizing the risk of having their power restored without a proper inspection. They also acknowledge Pasco County will not be liable for damages that could result from restoring power without proper inspection.
Murphy said, "We strongly recommend they have an electrician or a licensed professional go in and make sure their home is safe because there are so many hazards that arise specifically out of salt water. It’s kind of a sleeping danger. It might not pose a problem now, but you could see it happen in days or weeks."
Pasco County offers more information about safe power restoration on its website.
The DBPR website has a list of certified electricians near you.