News Flash

Hurricane Milton

Important Resources

Lake County Florida Emergency Management

Sign up for weather alerts at AlertLake.com or text ALERTLAKE to 888777

Sign up for CivicReady to get emergency alerts and notifications from the City of Mascotte.  Alerts include; Emergency Alerts, Utility Notifications, and Boil Water Advisories. 

Sign up to be notified of News Flashes the city puts out at: Notify Me • Mascotte, FL • CivicEngage (cityofmascotte.com)

U.S. National Weather Service Melbourne FL

For any questions regarding shelters, road closures, power outages and more, call the Lake County Emergency Management Citizen Information Line at 352-253-9999. 

As more updates and information become available to city staff we will continue to provide information on the city's website through News Flash, and the city's Emergency Management page along with the city's Facebook page. 

Emergency Order was issued earlier in the week. 

Hurricane Milton Update - 10-09-2024 at 2:00 PM

As of 2:00 PM this morning the updates are as follows:  

Town Closures
The City of Mascotte will be closed Wednesday and Thursday and will reopen on Monday for normal business hours.  Due to the storm the utilities department will not be imposing late fees till October 21, 2024, and shutoffs will not occur until 7:00 AM on October 22, 2024.

State of Emergency
Governor Ron DeSantis has issued a State of Emergency for counties including Lake County.  Monday the City of Mascotte also signed an Emergency Order. 

Shelter Information: 

Lake County will open 15 shelters for those who need accommodations during the storm. The shelters will open Tuesday, Oct. 08, at 12 p.m. Residents are encouraged to bring necessary supplies such as medication, bedding, and a pet carrier or crate. If you are not sure whether you should stay in your home or go to a shelter emergency management is strongly recommending residents to seek out a nearby shelter. 

• East Ridge High - 13322 Excalibur Road, Clermont
• East Ridge Middle - 13201 Excalibur Road, Clermont
• Eustis High - 1300 E. Washington Ave., Eustis
• Leesburg High - 1401 Yellow Jacket Way, Leesburg
• Mount Dora High - 700 N. Highland St., Mt. Dora
• Tavares High - 603 N. New Hampshire Ave., Tavares 

Pet-Friendly Shelters:

• Mascotte Elementary - 460 Midway Ave., Mascotte
• Round Lake Elementary - 31333 Round Lake Road, Mt. Dora
• Spring Creek Elementary - 44440 Spring Creek Road, Paisley
• Treadway Elementary - 10619 Treadway School Road, Leesburg

Pet-Friendly and Special-Needs Shelters:

• Leesburg Elementary - 2229 South St., Leesburg
• Lost Lake Elementary - 1901 Johns Lake Rd., Clermont
• Astatula Elementary - 13925 Florida Ave., Astatula
• Umatilla Elementary - 401 Lake St., Umatilla
• Villages Elementary - 695 Rolling Acres Rd., Lady Lake 

Residents who need help getting to a shelter should call the Citizens Information Line to schedule their travel. LakeXpress, Lake County’s fixed-route bus system, will be providing free rides on Wednesday to travelers who state they need to be taken to a shelter. Free rides will continue to be given until conditions become unsafe. Riders must tell the driver they are going to a shelter to use the free ride.

Schools

Lake County schools and district offices will be closed Tuesday, October 8, 2024, through Thursday, October 10, 2024.  
 
County Operations
Lake County Offices will be closed Wednesday, October 9, 2024, through Thursday, October 10, 2024. Office reopening will be assessed based on conditions. 
 
Trash Collection

Citizen Information Line
The County's Citizens Information Line (CIL) is now open for 24-hour operations. There number is 352-253-9999. 9-1-1 should only be used to request emergency aid.  

Emergency Alerts
Stay prepared by signing up for real-time weather alerts via phone, email, or text through the city's notification system which can be found on our website at www.cityofmascotte.com . Residents are strongly encouraged to sign up for alerts with their local municipalities and the county.
 
Resources and Information
For the most up-to-date information, visit the Lake County Office of Emergency Management FL. website and for resources, city residents may visit the City of Mascotte’s Emergency Management page on the city's website. 

Other Information
Hurricane Milton remains forecast to move directly across east central Florida early Thursday. The systems rainbands will affect the area throughout the day today. Milton is forecast to bring dangerous hurricane conditions, widespread flooding rain, and tornados, to portions of the area. Those vulnerable to high winds and flooding should be in a safer location at this time. Milton is currently a category 5 hurricane, and it will remain a powerful hurricane as it approaches the west central coast of Florida. The flooding rain threat has increased and is becoming high to extreme for locations along and north of Milton's center track. This will affect the risk of flooding, flash flooding, and river flooding. Tornados are increasingly likely before and during Milton's trek across the peninsula, especially in outer rainbands. As Milton makes landfall and moves inland, there will also be risk of extreme wind gusts as it encroaches Lake County before it stars to weaken. Most likely time of arrival is looking to be Wednesday, October 9, 2024, at 2000 hours +/-2 hours. Lake County can expect sustained strong winds of 50 to 60 mph and gusts of 70 to 80 mph. Rainfall amounts are forecast to be approximately 6-12 inches, with some areas in the county reaching amounts as high as 15-18 inches. Most likely departure time is Thursday, October 10, 2024, at 1700 +/-3 hours. 

Next scheduled update from the Lake County EOC will be tomorrow morning. 

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Please take care and be safe!