Hurricane Michael destroyed or damaged 500-550 million pine trees in north Florida on Oct. 10, 2018.
Credit: Florida Forest Service presentation to the Florida Senate Agriculture Committee.
Gov. Ron DeSantis urged Floridians Wednesday afternoon to finish preparations for Hurricane Helene’s landfall along the Big Bend on Thursday night, emphasizing the unprecedented damage tree debris could cause in Tallahassee.
Forecasters predict Helene will land as a major Category 3 hurricane with winds of up to 110 mph and storm surge of up to 20 ft. Officials have ordered mandatory evacuations of flood-prone areas, mobile homes, and other vulnerable homes in 18 counties along the Big Bend and Tampa Bay regions.
“The way this is tracking is a storm that is stronger than what we’ve seen in this region, I think, in anyone’s memory,” DeSantis said during a press conference in Tallahassee on Wednesday afternoon.
“And, you know, it’s one thing for people in parts of the state that have been through a bunch of majors to do, but some of this may be untrodden ground, certainly for most people who are living here now.”
Two hurricanes have struck the Big Bend in the past two years, Debbie as a Category 1 in August and Idalia as a Category 3 in 2023, but both steered east of Tallahassee. DeSantis said that people in the capital should prepare for a more direct hit with Helene, recalling the oak tree that fell on the governor’s mansion during Idalia.
“The difference that I see in the Tallahassee region versus other parts of the state that have been hit, it’s just there’s just a lot of more debris that’s likely to be flying around because we’ve got a lot of trees,” he said.
Earlier this year, tree damage from three tornadoes left thousands of people in the capital city without power. People can expect to lose electricity during Helene too, DeSantis said, adding that more than 21,000 linemen are coming into the state.
Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, advised people living in evacuation zones who need help getting out of their homes in Franklin, Taylor, and Wakulla counties to call 1-800-729-3413.
Floridians in the Big Bend will start feeling tropical-storm-force wind Thursday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.