PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is set to shut down access to the county's barrier islands starting Monday night in preparation for Hurricane Milton.
From 7 p.m. on Monday through 7 p.m. on Tuesday, access to the barrier islands will be restricted to residents, business owners and employees who have a barrier islands re-entry permit or documentation.
Effective 7 p.m. on Tuesday, all access to the barrier islands will be closed, including to residents.
That includes bridge access from the Dunedin Causeway down to the Pinellas Bayway, the sheriff's office said in a press conference.
Rideshare operators will be allowed on the barrier islands to transport people off the islands. Debris removal operators will continue cleanup efforts "until it is no longer safe to do so," according to law enforcement officials.
Effective Monday, Pinellas County also issued mandatory evacuation orders for everyone in Zones A, B, C and all mobile homes county-wide due to the threat posed by Hurricane Milton.
As of the latest advisory, Hurricane Milton "explosively intensified" from a Category 2 storm to a powerful, major Category 5 hurricane. While it's forecast to bring dangerous conditions to Florida and the Tampa Bay area, Milton is expected to weaken before reaching landfall sometime midweek.