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Palm Beach County residents prepare for Isaias

West Palm Beach suspends Saturday, Sunday trash pick up
Briny Breezes Mobile Home Park in Palm Beach County
Posted at 9:56 PM, Jul 30, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-31 00:37:51-04

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — From South Florida to the Treasure Coast, many families and communities are staying prepared for Hurricane Isaias. Work is being done to help reduce any potential impact.

MORE: Latest on track of Isaias

Mark Stanek drove down from New Smyrna Beach to Briny Breezes to secure his boat.

"I brought some extra material to help strap her down, so she won't go anywhere," Stanek said.

He said he usually would pull his boat out of the water, but he is not taking that approach for this storm.

"This time, I don't think it's going to be that bad," Stanek said.

On land, Chris Nagiewicz was going around the Briny Breezes Mobile Home Park on Thursday to help people secure their places.

"We started at 7 a.m., and we did about 10 places. We closed about 10 today," Nagiewicz said.

He said he has 40 places to secure in such a short time frame.

"The problem with this storm is there is only two days notification. Most have a week, so this time I'm in a back rush," Nagiewicz said.

Chris Nagiewicz
Chris Nagiewicz was busy securing homes at Briny Breezes Mobile Home Park in Briny Breezes, Fla., on July 30, 2020.

SPECIAL SECTION: Hurricane Guide

At the moment, Palm Beach County is monitoring the storm. The county said decisions on opening shelters would depend on the impact of the storm.

The city of West Palm Beach has suspended Saturday and Sunday garbage/trash pick up and asking residents to keep storm drains clean.

In Boca Raton, the city has done its first level of preparations.

"Construction sites, they need to be prepared to tie things down, your construction materials. We've told people that put signs out in front of their stores, especially now with the pandemic you've got to be ready these things back inside as the thing approaches. We've also started the cleaning of storm drains," Boca Raton council member Andy Thomson said.

Back in Briny Breezes, Stanek said he has seen people all day securing their vessels.

"It's a big investment, so you want to save them," he said.

According to Florida Power and Light, they have activated their storm plan and command center. They are monitoring the storm and looking at resources they may need to bring in.