ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Debris cleanup from Hurricanes Helene and Milton began at Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg on Monday, more than three months after the storms hit.

What You Need To Know

  • Hurricane debris cleanup began at Albert Whitted Airport on Jan. 27 

  • It's expected to be complete before the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Feb. 28 

  • Three hangar buildings with 32 units were severely damaged 

  • St. Pete City Council approved $1.2M for the project on Jan. 9

“This is really the first day of cleanup, mainly demolition, debris removal,” said Rich Lesniak, Airport Manager. “Every day I come out and see this I'm still in disbelief sometimes.”

Lesniak said it has taken awhile to remove the debris because they had to document the damage from each storm for FEMA, along with getting bids and city council approval for funding.

“Given the scope and size, the dollar amount, we kind of had to wait for the initial assessments to get done,” he said. “The engineering department had to get out here with the contractor and get quotes and stuff together.”

At the Jan. 9 city council meeting, pilot Will “Liam” Hawkins said it has been painful seeing the airport get no attention.

“We have jagged metal debris from decades ago all over the airport. Thousands of pounds of it,” he said. “Twisted I-beams, broken glass, aviation fuel spilling on documents, personal belongings, in areas we’re not allowed to access.”

City council members unanimously approved spending nearly $1.2 million to remove the debris at the airport. It’s expected to be complete before the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg begins on Feb. 28. Part of the race rack uses a runway and stands have already been assembled on airport grounds.

“We expect this will be done well before the race,” Lesniak said. “I think people are like, ‘finally we're getting the stuff removed.’ Especially, for some of the folks who had their planes trapped.”

The airport manager said three large hangar buildings, which have 32 units, were severely damaged along. Three planes and two helicopters were trapped inside those damaged hangars for months. Lesniak said only one of those planes was not severely damaged.

Lesniak said while the debris will be removed from T-hangar buildings 5, 6 and 9 before the Grand Prix, repairs to hangars 4, 7, 8 and 10 will be made later.

“That will just take a longer process for them to kind of put the scopes together,” he said. “Do a little more high level inspections and kind of get the specs together to do the repairs.”