Not all Hurricane Matthew yard debris will be picked up by Halloween

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Officials with the city of Jacksonville and St. Johns County said there’s a good chance that not all the yard debris from Hurricane Matthew will be picked up in time for trick or treaters on Halloween.

John Lowe said he’s worried about whether the piles of debris put his grandchildren at risk of tripping or stepping on creepy, crawly critters while they trick-or-treat.

“Knowing them, they would be all in it, and crawling through it, over it, and on top of it,” said Lowe.

Both the city of Jacksonville and St. Johns County said the first sweep of storm debris pickups won’t be finished for weeks. Both said they’re already planning on a second sweep weeks from now.

“I think it should have been cleaned up some time ago,” said Lowe.

St. Johns County’s public works department estimates that it has already picked up about 70,000 cubic yards of debris.

The City of Jacksonville estimates it will pick up as much as 1 million cubic yards of debris in its first sweep.

The city’s website said the pickup process will happen faster if neighbors separate out their vegetative debris, construction debris and household trash.

JEA put out a Tweet this week asking for neighbors' help to keep trick or treaters safe by reporting streetlights that are out. You can report streetlight issues on JEA's website.

Cox Media Group