Siesta, Nokomis, North and South Brohard and Maxine Barrit beaches will reopen on Saturday, Oct. 26.
After being closed for an extended period due to damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, a handful of Sarasota County beaches will reopen on Saturday, Oct. 26. According to Sarasota County parks, recreation and natural resources director Nicole Rissler, Siesta, Nokomis, North and South Brohard and Maxine Barrit beaches will be ready for visitors this weekend.
"As everybody knows, Sarasota County took a direct hit just two weeks after taking a pretty good pummeling associated with Helene," Rissler said at a press conference held on Siesta Key on Thursday. "Our beaches and barrier islands are extremely important to our economy and through the incredible work of our community, contractors and vendors, we've made significant improvements to clear sand. We took some hits, but here at Siesta, you'll see we are hard at work getting those lifeguard stands put back up. Like our lifeguard stands here, our community stood back up and we are ready to welcome people back."
"Every one of our beaches has been a little different," she continued. "Here at Siesta, we have a very wide beach, but we still had sand all the way up in the parking lot and into the street. Luckily, that sand was not mixed with a lot of debris. In some cases, it had to be separated a little bit, but in most cases it was able to be put back on the beach following the guidelines of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. It involved a whole lot of raking and leveling, but that beautiful sand is still here and the same as it's always been."
In addition to some county beaches reopening, Rissler announced that some local boat ramps will also be operational again as of Saturday, including those at Nokomis, Blackburn Point, Manasota and Venice Marina.
Rissler also offered assurances that the water at each soon-to-be-open beach has been tested and ruled to be safe for humans to swim in by the health department.
She was unable to provide a timeline for opening other area beaches like South Lido, North Lido and Longboat Key beaches. According to Rissler, beaches that remain closed have varying degrees of damage and excessive debris that make them potentially dangerous for beachgoers. She also emphasized that visitors to closed beaches may impede efforts to help the barrier islands recover.