Hendry County Emergency Operation Center remains at a partial activation. There are still many uncertainties with the possible impact of this storm. A shift in the storms path to the left (west) or the right (east) will look very different. The EOC will be fully activated at 12:00 noon Thursday, October 6th.

• Hendry County Schools will be closed Thursday and Friday

• Hendry County government offices will be closed Thursday and Friday

• City government offices in Clewiston - hours to be determined later today

• City government offices in LaBelle open Thursday until 12:00 noon.

• General Population Shelters will be open in the following locations (no pets allowed except service animals)

The American Red Cross will be staffing the shelters with area volunteers beginning at 8:00 am Thursday.

• Clewiston Middle School, 601 W. Osceola Ave, Clewiston, FL 33440

• LaBelle Middle School, 8000 E. Cowboy Way, LaBelle, FL 33935

• The Special Needs Shelter - West Glades School (pre-registration was required and applications are no longer being accepted for this storm event)

There will be NO trash/garbage or recycle pickup in Hendry County, the City of LaBelle or Clewiston for Thursday, Oct 6th. Next scheduled pickup will be the regular pickup day. The Clewiston transfer station will be allowing unincorporated residents to bring their waste free of charge to the transfer station on Saturday, Oct. 8th from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon.

If you have any type of yard (political) sign in your yard, please pick it up and store it securely until after the storm.

Voluntary Evacuations are recommended for those living in low-lying areas prone to flooding and high-risk structures such as R.V.’s, mobile homes and manufactured homes. This not a mandatory evacuation at this time.