OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, Fla. — Okeechobee County officials want to inform the community about its recovery efforts after Hurricane Ian's strong winds pulled down power lines, took down fences and toppled large trees.
County officials said crews conducted a damage assessment on approximately 50% of the county. The team will continue the work into next week. They may be taking pictures and asking questions to homeowners.
Homeowners are encouraged to take photos of damage on their property and upload them here.
The county said that Florida Power & Light (FPL) reported approximately 5,500 customers waiting on power restoration and Glades Electric Cooperative reported approximately 1,000 customers.
According to FPL, the majority of customers in Okeechobee County were without power Thursday after Hurricane Ian plowed through the state.
The county is also working on resuming trash collection.
Bulk yard waste collection will resume in Okeechobee County next week. In the meantime, residents can take their own household garbage to the landfill at no charge until normal operations resume.
The county said hurricane-related debris should be separated from household garbage and placed on the curbside. These will be collected early next week.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday customers can place items curbside on Friday. Collections will continue through Saturday until caught up.
For more information, call the Information Call Line at 863-763-3536 Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
