Lee County Emergency Management is making shelter changes as hurricane season ramps up

We are about to enter the busiest time of the year for hurricane season as we normally ramp up in August and can stay active through October.

Lee County Emergency Management says it plans on some changes over previous years.

They are looking into opening additional shelters to help with social distancing, doing health checks at the door, and focusing on safety measures.

“Making sure our members of the public bring their face mask should they need to go to a public hurricane shelter. Looking at extra cleaning for shelters and wiping down those high touch areas more frequently than we normally would in a hurricane sheltering environment,” said Lee Mayfield, Director of Lee County Emergency Management.

As you get your hurricane kits together be aware that stores like Publix still have limits on how much of certain products, like cleaning wipes you can buy. They tell us that likely won’t change, so as people prepare their kits, they are taking different approaches.

Going to a shelter should not be your “Plan A”. Shelter in place if you can or evacuate to family or friends nearby. Public shelters should be a last resort.