TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials provided updates on recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Milton Sunday afternoon in Treasure Island.
During Sunday's news conference, Kevin Guthrie, executive director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said it was "time to get after" debris cleanup efforts following both Hurricane Helene and Milton.
"90 days, 100%. It's time to get after it, no excuses," Guthrie said. "We've cut the red tape, we've cut the hours of operation. We're going 24/7, we've weighed weights and measures. We can keep trucks moving."
Guthrie emphasized that the debris cleanup from the back-to-back hurricanes is not just a state responsibility, but a city and county government responsibility.
"Cities and counties, activate your vendors. Activate your haulers. This is not just 'hit the easy button,'" Guthrie said. "This is all of us, all together."
The executive director mentioned sitting down with city leaders in St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island and South Pasadena, which saw devastating impacts from Hurricane Milton's landfall.
"They were overwhelmed, 'where do we start?'" Guthrie said. " I want to assure every city that's out here all across this disaster area, every county that does not even know how to get started, call us."
Guthrie instructed city leaders in the Tampa Bay area to take the initiative on debris cleanup by sending FDEM their estimates.
"We will write an expedited project worksheet, get that submitted to FEMA, we put in a monitoring line that's about 25% of that cost," Guthrie said. "Usually, within days... half of that money is in your bank account for you to get ready to go moving and get your haulers started."
Aside from debris cleanup, the executive director added that search and rescue missions in affected areas have finished up, except for a few remaining secondary searches in Pinellas County.