JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As Tropical Storm Elsa makes its way towards our area, First Coast News is monitoring important closures, emergency information and delays that might impact you.
This article is organized county-by-county. If you have knowledge about a closure or important emergency information to share that is not listed, please email news@firstcoastnews.com.
Here are some important links to bookmark:
Airport Information:
Tampa International Airport is resuming regular operations at 8:30 a.m., which is earlier than expected. If you're flying today, you're urged to check your flight status with your airline.
Jacksonville International Airport will remain open as long as flights are still operational. Customers need to reach out to their individual airline to see if their flight is delayed or canceled due to weather conditions.
First Coast YMCA:
All day camps in Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns Counties will be closed in alignment with decisions made by local school districts.
Alachua County:
Sandbags are available for residents on Monday, July 5, from noon to 5 p.m. and Tuesday, July 6, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Wayside Park located at 11855 N.W. US 441. There is a limit of 10 bags per person.
Bradford County:
Bradford County will be conducting pre-filled sandbag distribution operations at the Bradford County Public Works site, located on West Market Road. The entrance to the yard will be closed to westbound traffic
- Monday, July 5, 2021 – 3 p.m. – 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, July 6, 2021 – 7 a.m. – TBD
In addition, self-serve sites have been set up at Bradford County Fire Rescue Station 40 & Station 90. Please bring your own shovel if you use those sites. Click here for more information about sandbags.
The Bradford County Emergency Management Division is opening a storm shelter at Starke Elementary School. People should bring their own cots/air mattresses, blankets, pillow, medications, electronic and hygiene items. Pets will be allowed at the facility but must be kept in a crate with their own food and water.
Camden County:
Residents are encouraged to report damage in Camden County caused by thunderstorms, tornadoes, tropical storms, wildfires, or man-made incidents.
Camden County Emergency Management Agency has partnered with Orion Damage Assessment System to assist citizens with reporting damage.
Clay County:
Clay County Board of County Commissioners government offices and facilities will reopen and resume normal operations today, Wednesday, July 7, at 1 p.m.
Clay County will be offering sandbags today, Tuesday, July 6, from noon to 6 p.m. at Omega Park, located at 4317 CR 218 in Middleburg FL, 32068. This will be the only location offering sandbags in Clay County. You must fill your own sandbags. Shovels will be available. Sandbags will be limited to 10 per vehicle.
Parts of Clay County are vulnerable to flooding, historically this is true for properties along the Black Creek River Basin. You can monitor river levels and rises by clicking here.
To find out your evacuation zone, click here.
Clay County offers a notification system known as ALERT Clay County. This system provides Clay County residents and business owners the ability to receive emergency notifications on their home, business and cell phones as well as through text and email. These alerts include evacuation notices, flash flood warnings, tornado warnings, severe thunderstorm warnings, notices of missing persons, etc.” To sign up click here.
Clay County Board of County Commissioners government offices and facilities will delay opening until noon on Wednesday
All public library branches will close at 6 p.m. Tuesday, and delay opening until noon, at a minimum, Wednesday.
The shelter at Clay County Animal Services will be closed all day on Wednesday resuming operations on Thursday, July 8.
Keystone Heights City Hall will be closed until noon on Thursday, July 8 in response to Hurricane Elsa. All residents should bring in their trash cans and recycle bins Tuesday as well as anything else that may get picked up in the expected high winds and to be prepared for power outages that may occur.
Town of Orange Park: Due to Tropical Storm Elsa, there will be no garbage, recycling or yard waste collection service on Wednesday, July 7.
Residential customers will be serviced on a one-day delay the remainder of the week (Wednesday customers will be serviced Thursday, Thursday customers will be serviced Friday, and Friday customers will be serviced Saturday).
Commercial and roll-off customers will have a delay in service of up to one day
Columbia County:
Columbia County will distribute sandbags from noon until 9 p.m., with a limit of 15 bags per person, at the following locations:
- Columbia County Public Works, 607 NW Quinten St, Lake City, FL 32055
- Ft. White Community Center, 17579 FL-47, Fort White, FL 32038
Elderly assistance is available at each location.
There will be three shelters open from 8 p.m. Tuesday to 6 p.m. Wednesday. People with special needs will have a power supply available for medical devices. The shelters will not provide food or beverages. These are the locations:
- Westside Community Center, 431 SW Birley Ave, Lake City, FL 32024
- Ft. White Community Center, 17579 FL-47, Fort White, FL 32038
- Winfield Community Center, 1324 NW Winfield St, Lake City, FL 32055
If winds are above 30 mph, garbage pickup will be suspended until Thursday.
The following offices will be closed on Wednesday:
- Columbia County Courts
- Columbia County Tax Collector
- Columbia County Property Appraiser
- Columbia County Supervisor of Election
- Columbia County Board of County Commissioners
Duval County:
Duval County offers a notification system known as ALERTJax. You can sign up for notifications to receive the latest emergency information, by clicking here.
All Duval County Public Schools student-related summer programs are canceled for Wednesday in anticipation of the impact of Tropical Storm Elsa. This includes Summer Rise, summer school, all summer camps and all other extracurricular activities. Twelve-month employees should report to work as normal or may take leave according to normal procedures. Any changes in status will posted to this website.
Jacksonville University will transition to remote learning and work on Wednesday, July 7. The JU Orthodontics clinic and the Healthcare Simulation Center will both close for the day, and there are no day camp sessions scheduled for Wednesday. Campus dining facilities will remain open for the limited number of students, overnight campers and support staff currently on campus.
Navy Base Operations - NAS Jax commanding officer is minimizing command operations and the footprint on base Wednesday. All tenant commands should check with their leadership on personnel requirements and leave policies for inclement weather. Naval Hospital Jacksonville and branch health clinic expect to remain open during Hurricane Elsa. The Navy Exchange will remain open for normal business from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The gas station will remain open. The Commissary will remain open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
JEA announced that the utility company is suspending the deactivation of utility services for nonpayment until Thursday, July 8. You can call 904-665-600 to report outages or visit the JEA website.
Atlantic Beach Mayor Ellen Glasser spoke on behalf of all beaches mayors and urged residents to refrain from doing yard work in anticipation of Hurricane Elsa due to a large amount of debris that the city works department is already dealing with.
Sulzbacher will provide overnight shelters for anyone in need of shelter on Tuesday night and Wednesday night. In addition to housing, its 400+ people at both the Downtown Campus as well as Sulzbacher Village, the agency will open up temporary sleeping areas for people in need of shelter during the storm.
Women and families seeking shelter from the storm can go to Sulzbacher Village at 5455 Springfield Blvd. and men go to Sulzbacher’s Downtown Campus at 611 East Adams St.
Guests seeking safe shelter may also check-in to City Rescue Mission's New Life Inn at 234 W. State Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202, beginning Wednesday at 11 a.m. CRM’s overflow shelter will remain open until conditions are deemed safe.
Jumbo Shrimp Game - In light of Hurricane Elsa, Wednesday’s game between the Jumbo Shrimp and Knights has been postponed. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader beginning at 5:05 p.m. on Thursday.
Flagler County:
Flagler County officials have canceled Waste Pro services in the unincorporated areas for Wednesday due to anticipated high winds in the county. These services have been rescheduled for Saturday.
Flagler County offers a notification system known as ALERTFlagler. This system provides Flagler residents and business owners the ability to receive emergency notifications on their home, business and cell phones as well as through text and email.
These alerts include evacuation notices, flash flood warnings, tornado warnings, severe thunderstorm warnings, notices of missing persons, etc.”
Glynn County:
At this time the only cancellations and closures for July 7 include summer programs at all Glynn County Public Schools, Jekyll Island outdoor activities, Glynn County public pools, and Glynn County Magistrate Court- Citation court. Glynn County and the City of Brunswick have no plans to close offices at this time.
Sign up for the CoreRED Emergency Notification System by clicking here.
You can Tune FM Radio to 104.9 to check out Glynn County's Emergency Advisory Radio System
Nassau County:
Nassau County offers a notification system known as ALERT Nassau. This system provides residents and business owners the ability to receive emergency notifications on their home, business and cell phones as well as through text and email. To sign up, click here.
Due to Tropical Storm Elsa, there will be no garbage or recycling collection service on Wednesday, July 7 for Waste Management customers in the City of Fernandina Beach.
Putnam County:
As Tropical Storm Elsa gets closer, Putnam County is getting prepared. A local state of emergency has been declared, and the emergency operations center will be partially activated at 8 a.m. on July 6. Sandbags will be available at 7:30 a.m. at the Huntington Landfill, East Palatka Community Center, Bardin Fire Department, and Chesser Sand Pit. More information here.
Rain bands that come across the area will contain high winds, so ensure yard items are secure.
St. Johns County:
St. Johns County's emergency notification system provides residents with critical information during emergency situations including severe weather, unexpected road closures, water advisories and more. The Alert St. Johns system replaced the Code Red system, so it is imperative that residents sign up for these critical notifications.
For more information, click here or call 904-824-5550.
Union County:
Union County officials say river levels have dropped considerably over the past few days and that this will not be an Irma scenario. However, Union County will most likely experience flash flooding in the normal problem areas.
County personnel will be on standby and respond to any downed trees/powerlines, road washouts, etc.
Ware County:
Due to the threat of inclement weather from Tropical Storm Elsa, all Ware County Schools offices and campuses will be closed Wednesday, July 7.
All athletic events and practices scheduled for Wednesday have also been canceled.
After the storm passes through the area, the county will assess facility and road conditions before announcing plans to reopen to the public. Those announcements will be made via email and Thrillshare callout to employees and through Facebook, our website, and Thrillshare callout to the public.