Treasure Island has growing reminder of the daunting cleanup that awaits after dual hurricanes

TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — Reminders are growing of the daunting cleanup efforts that remain after Florida’s beachfronts were slammed by not just Hurricane Helene but Milton.

In Treasure Island, a pile of soaked debris now sits on what was an empty lot next to the town’s police station. By Thursday, the pile was some 40-50 yards long and 20 feet high — a volume that swells by the day as an army of dump trucks carries in loads of broken homes and businesses pummeled by the twin storm surges.

"This will continue to get larger as the days go on," FOX Weather’s Robert Ray said as he looked at the tons of damage looming next to him. "There is still a lot of debris to pick up in the area."

Entire neighborhoods still have sidewalks choked with more debris awaiting pickup, mixed in with mountains of sand from the Gulf of Mexico pushed ashore. Much of the debris was from Helene’s wrath that didn’t get a chance to be cleared before Milton piled on.

"The shock of Milton and Helene is over," Ray said. "And the reality has set in as far as everybody trying to get things to some sort of semblance (of normal.)"

Those efforts were under way just a few blocks away, where tunes blared under massive tents full of relief supplies for residents to take as needed.

"This is a makeshift aid station for all the people who have lost everything from soap to diapers, to wipes, to food, to chips, to canned goods, to water, to batteries, to screws, to screwdrivers, to nails," Ray said. "Literally everything that someone might need in a recovery mode is here."

Also there: volunteers from far and wide. Travis Bonino owns Salsa Leedos Mexican Grill in Utah, but has property in Treasure Island that was damaged during the storms.

"People were walking around the streets with nothing but literally bags. That's all they had left," Bonino told Ray. "Their homes were destroyed. Their jobs were lost."

Bonino reached out to his Utah community on Facebook, and they quickly rallied, filling three semi-trucks with relief supplies that made their way to Florida. Meanwhile, the local community supplied the space, tents, generators — and music — to make the aid tent happen. 

"(We’re trying to) make people feel comfortable. Come and take things," Bonino said. "A lot of these people have never asked for a hand out in their life, right? They have nothing left. So some of them have money, but they have no way to buy this stuff."

Over along the beachfront, there’s a second round of cleaning up at Caddy’s Treasure Island after Milton once again drowned the restaurant in feet of seawater.

"It’s a kick in the gut having two storms back-to-back," Caddy’s CEO Randy Esponda told Ray. "We’re resilient and happy as can be that the building is intact."

The restaurant and bar sits just 30 or so yards from the Gulf of Mexico surf -- no match for either storm. Esponda said after the storm surge smashed through the bottom floor, it left behind a layer of sand 3-4 feet deep.

Aside from shoveling out the immense volume of sand, walls and floors need to be replaced, as well as four of the bars. But they will persevere.

"We’re all just joined together to rebuild better than it was before and have the tourists back," he said.

But until then, Esponda had a plea for those tourists who might want to come visit as soon as the island gets back on its feet.

"If one of your favorite places like Caddy’s Treasure Island might be closed a little bit longer than expected, there are other small ‘mom and pop’ local community bars and restaurants that will be open and welcoming you with open arms," Esponda said. "We’re very excited to have the opportunity to rebuild and still be here."