From one of the Middle Keys’ highlights…
Sure beats entering a hot dog eating contest (voice of experience)…
How fast can YOU crack and consume 25 stone crab claws? Individual AND team spots still available for tomorrow’s event! Register online or by 11 a.m. Saturday, 10/21 in person, entry fee $50 pp, $100 for 2-person team. All proceeds benefit Keys charities!
Saturday, October 21, the 7th Annual Stone Crab Eating Contest is ON, starting at the crack of noon, in front of Keys Fisheries Bar Upstairs in Marathon, near mile marker 48, at 35th Street, gulfside. Sign up now! http://www.keysfisheries.com/events/
While we still don’t know much about how the larger population count has been affected, many deer have been spotted. If you happen to be driving on Big Pine Key — where most of the deer live — anytime in the near future, please exercise extra caution, as the fence along US1 that kept them off the roadway for a few miles is largely down. The nighttime speed limit is 35 mph for that reason. Thanks!
Many of you have asked how the Key deer managed through Irma. We thought we’d share some of the beautiful pics taken by MyFWC :
“While assisting with relief efforts for Keys residents impacted by Hurricane Irma, I was lucky enough to see some endangered Key deer! It was inspiring to see several of these small deer in No Name Key despite the devastation caused by Irma.” (Carol Lyn Parrish, South Region Public Information Coordinator)
Well worth a visit if you’re traveling in or near Marathon in the Middle Keys.
The Turtle Hospital in Marathon reopened today and conducted their first offshore rescue since before Hurricane Irma. “Booga,” a 118-pound loggerhead sea turtle was entangled in a trap line in the Gulf of Mexico. The hospital’s animal rehabilitation staff with the U.S. Coast Guard and assisted with the rescue. #keysrecovery #seaturtles #floridakeys #floridanow
This just in…
Keys officials announced Monday the official reopening date for visitors to return to the Florida Keys is Sunday, Oct. 1. As not all tourism facilities have yet to resume operation, please check with them before traveling. http://www.fla-keys.com/news/article/10134/
The latest tourism update from keysrecovery.org:
Tourism Infrastructure Repairs Moving Forward in Florida Keys
September 22, 2017
Recovery efforts continue throughout the 125-mile-long Florida Keys island chain after Hurricane Irma struck the destination Sept. 10.
American and Delta airlines and Silver Airways have resumed commercial air service into Key West International Airport. Still, overnight visitors are asked to postpone immediate vacation plans throughout the island chain and contact their airlines and hotels for further details.
The Port of Key West has reopened for daytime operations and the first cruise ship port call is expected Sunday, Sept. 24, or Tuesday, Sept. 26.
All bridges on the Florida Keys Overseas Highway are safe for travel. A few breaches in the roadbed caused by storm surge were quickly repaired according to Florida Department of Transportation officials.
During a Thursday Monroe County Emergency Management conference call, the Florida Keys Electric Cooperative reported restoration of almost 100 percent of its customers who are able to accept power, from Ocean Reef in North Key Largo through Marathon in the Middle Keys. FKEC officials said they would start releasing mutual aid crews who came to help from areas outside of the Keys.
Keys Energy Service officials indicated that some 95 percent of power had been restored from Key West to Crane Boulevard on Sugarloaf Key. Some 400 crews are working in other parts of the Lower Keys from Sugarloaf to the Seven Mile Bridge.
The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority says that all of the islands except Cudjoe Key and Summerland Key now have water 24/7. The boil-water order has been discontinued for Key Largo (excluding Ocean Reef) through Tavernier as well as Shark Key through Key West (except Rockland Key). Water quality testing is ongoing in other parts of the Keys where a boil-water order remains in effect.
“The Keys have come a long way in a short time, but we still have work to do to get the Keys ready for visitors,” said Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi.
A local state of emergency is still in effect, and Florida Keys officials continue to discourage visitors who wish to travel the Keys via the Florida Keys Overseas Highway to avoid hindering recovery efforts.
The island chain’s official targeted reopening date is Oct. 20, the beginning of Key West’s Fantasy Fest. However, that date may be advanced.
Irma’s damage impacts vary among Keys regions. Key Largo and Key West have the fewest impacts, and properties there have returned or are returning to regular operations. Islamorada’s bayside and Marathon’s gulfside facilities have substantially fewer effects than oceanside. Some oceanside resorts and facilities will require weeks or months of repairs to reopen for business.
The Lower Keys, located between Marathon and Key West, received the brunt of the storm and recovery is likely to take the longest for many residents and businesses in that area.
“We’ll be welcoming visitors as soon as we get the full go-ahead from Monroe County officials and cities within our five distinct tourism districts,” said Harold Wheeler, the Keys tourism council’s director.
Visitor information is available at fla-keys.com. Additional details about infrastructure updates can be found at KeysRecovery.org, a dedicated informational site.
We’ll try to keep everyone updated on when the Keys will be open to visitors again. Meanwhile, our company is open though we’re still assessing the status of each of the vacation rental properties we manage. Thanks for your patience.
UPDATE: We appreciate everyone’s patience as the recovery effort continues, your supportive messages have been amazing and heartfelt. Thank you so very much. We wanted to share a few pics taken from the skies Tuesday, Sept. 19, perhaps some of your favorite areas in the Keys, to give you a sense of things here, post-Irma.
The Florida Keys still remain temporarily closed to visitors and a local state of emergency is in effect. The initial goal for visitors to return remains Oct. 20, the beginning of Key West’s Fantasy Fest, but that date may be advanced. #KeysRecovery #floridakeysstrong
We have heard October 20 mentioned several times by some in a position to know as the date at which tourists will be able to visit the Florida Keys again.
We apologize for lack of information on this page as admins were out of power and internet access. We are back and will do our best to keep you informed. We all truly appreciate the support that is being given to our island community.
This is the latest information we have:
KEYS TOURISM ADVISORY Sept. 16 • 10:15 a.m.
News and Information from the Monroe County Tourist Development Council
Re-transmitting to correct sentence regarding Upper Keys curfew.
Keys Open to Middle Keys Residents; Residents of the Lower Keys and Key West Sunday
Florida Keys residents of the Middle and Upper Keys, with appropriate identification or re-entry stickers, can now return – after they evacuated for Hurricane Irma – Monroe County officials said Saturday. The regions opening Saturday include Layton, Key Colony Beach and Marathon. Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada reopened earlier in the week.
Residents with interests west of the Seven Mile Bridge in the Lower Keys and Key West are to be permitted entry beginning Sunday at daybreak.
The region is not open to visitors, and returnees should be aware of the continued lack of electricity, water, communications challenges, sewer challenges, limited food and drinking water supplies and debris on roads.
Returnees should bring plenty of supplies with them.
Monroe County officials said law enforcement presence between the Seven Mile Bridge and Key West — the hardest hit region — will be “saturated.”
The checkpoint will remain at Florida City until further notice to manage the re-entry program.
A dusk-to-dawn curfew from MM 80 southwest through Key West remains. The curfew in the Upper Keys has been modified to begin at 10 p.m. and continue through dawn.
Monroe County has a website dedicated solely to the Hurricane Irma Recovery Effort. It is www.keysrecovery.org.
Information also is available on Facebook @KeysRecovery and Twitter at @keysrecovery
Monroe County’s Information Hotline is back on line at 1-800-955-5504.
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