Pinellas County sheriff likens barrier island roadways to a ‘war zone,’ with sand piled up 4 to 5 feet high

 Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the conditions along Gulf Boulevard, a 15-mile-long road running the length of the county’s barrier islands, are like “a war zone” following the impacts of Hurricane Helene.

“I can’t think of a time, ever, that Pinellas County has experienced the surge that we experienced last night, and into the early morning hours. The areas of Gulf Boulevard have never, ever looked like this before,” the sheriff said, describing the roadway as “impassible” and “dangerous.”

While a lot of water has dissipated, the sheriff said around 12 to 15 areas in the county remain barricaded because water is still on the roadway.

Barrier island roads in the county are impassable, with mounds of sand piled up similar to “snowbanks,” Gualtieri said.

“You cannot see the ground. (…) You really need a big plow to get it off the roadway,” he said.
“Some of that sand out there is probably as much as four and five feet high.”