Bay County begins debris pickup in unincorporated areas west of PCB

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - More than two weeks after Hurricane Isaias left debris across the Panhandle, Bay County is starting its pickup. The delay has frustrated some residents who say cleanup should have started sooner.

Storm debris from Hurricane Isaias remains piled up on the side of the road in parts of Bay County.

“We had fences fall down, soffit, fascia, and siding come off the house. We had three trees fall over in the back. It took us about three days working all day long. My husband got up first thing in the morning,” said Jane Norris, a Bay County resident.

For many, cleanup took days, and then the waiting began.

Bay County is using internal resources to clean up the piles of debris. Officials say the amount of debris means the work could take at least two months.

The county says the delay was intentional, to give people time.

“You don’t want to do it too quickly because you get ahead of your citizens who need time to get their yard ready,” said Keith Bryant, Bay County deputy manager.

Another delay involved finding federal monitors to document the pickup, with no guarantee of reimbursement from FEMA.

“We’re not sure if we’re going to be paid back from FEMA for what we’re doing now. But if we are paid back, we had to bring on monitors. That took a little bit of time,” Bryant said.

Crews are only picking up vegetative debris for residents living in unincorporated Bay County on the west end of Panama City Beach.

Some residents say they didn’t want to wait for the county.

“We just ended up just doing it ourselves because we just needed it done. And no, it seemed like it was taking way too long for them to make this decision,” said Jenna, a Bay County resident.

To save money, the county decided to handle cleanup in-house, using its own equipment, vehicles, and manpower.

“We’ll put as much force as we can, but we’re still running the county. We’re still out there grading roads, fixing potholes, fixing bridges, the things we do every day,” Bryant said.

All debris should be placed roadside because crews will only make one pass.

Pickup is only available west of the Hathaway Bridge, in unincorporated Bay County, north on State 79 to Steelfield. Private roads and HOA neighborhoods are not included.

The county says residents who still need assistance with storm cleanup can apply for help through Rebuild Bay.

Application & Next Steps for Rebuild-Bay: Rebuild-Bay-County-Recovery-Application.pdf

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