City News

Gas is being delivered from the port of Tampa, there are stations in the area that are running normal operations with regularly scheduled fuel deliveries. 

Residential Garbage Collection inside the City of Lakeland resumed normal operations today, Monday, October 14^th. This includes garbage, recycling and yard waste.  For example, if a customer has Friday as their normal day for collection, please place carts out for a Friday pickup.  Expect delays in bagged and containerized yard waste collection. Place any extra bags of garbage next to the green garbage cart and it will be picked up.

Hurricane debris including large yard waste piles and household items will be collected by FEMA Contractors and city claw trucks. No need to call in large piles of tree or household debris. The City’s contract debris haulers have been mobilized and the City of Lakeland is getting debris sites ready.  These are FEMA contractors so we must adhere to the FEMA rules with debris.

• Keep debris away from trees, poles, structures, fire hydrants, and meters. 
• Do not block the roadway with debris
• To simplify things, curbside Debris needs to be separated into these categories

• Construction debris
• Vegetation debris
• Appliances

Gas is starting to be delivered from the port of Tampa, and we should see normal operations as the week progresses.

At the peak Lakeland Electric had approximately 85,000 customers without power.  As of this morning that number is down to 12,000, bringing 90% of Lakeland Electric’s customers back online since Hurricane Milton passed over Polk County. As restoration efforts progress, the outages are becoming increasingly challenging and time-consuming. Lakeland Electric is transitioning from repairing outages that restore power to thousands at a time to hundreds at a time.

Gas is starting to be delivered from the Port of Tampa.  It is impossible to provide an ongoing list of stations that have gas, but the good news – gas is being delivered.

At the peak Lakeland Electric had approximately 85,000 customers without power. Power has been restored to over half of those customers in just one day. As of 9 a.m. this morning, 38,000 customers are without power. Due to the extensive wind and flood damage, it is estimated that power restoration will take at least seven days to get all customers online.

As of this morning, there are approximately 85,000 Lakeland Electric customers without power. Our teams have been mobilized and crews have already started restoration efforts so that number will start to go down as the day progresses. 

There are over 400 personnel in the field restoring power, this includes over 300 mutual aid workers who are here from Louisiana, Texas and other Florida municipal utilities. Thank you to our line works, our mutual aid teams and all those behind the scenes that help with power restoration.  The Customer Service Call Center is open. Lakeland Electric customers should call (863) 834-9535 to report electric emergencies and downed lines. The smart meter system automatically reports power outages to Lakeland Electric. Customers can monitor their outage by visiting https://lakelandelectric.com/outagemap.

The City of Lakeland’s Emergency Operation Center (EOC) has been activated.  The EOC is where essential staff monitors and tracks potential damage, power outages, down trees, flooding and emergency situations so hurricane restoration efforts can be mobilized efficiently once winds fall below 40 mph.

City offices and facilities will be closed to the public on Wednesday, October 9 and Thursday, October 10 in preparation of Hurricane Milton.

Hurricane Milton is now a Category 4 Hurricane with sustained winds over 150 mph.  The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 5-category rating system used to measure the strength of a hurricane and estimate the potential damage it may cause:

• Category 1: Winds of 74–95 mph, causing minimal damage
• Category 2: Winds of 96–110 mph, causing moderate damage
• Category 3: Winds of 111–129 mph, causing extensive damage
• Category 4: Winds of 130–156 mph, causing devastating damage
• Category 5: Winds of 157+ mph, causing catastrophic damage

Hurricane Milton has increased intensity and is now a Category 5 Hurricane with sustained winds over 160mp.  The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 5-category rating system used to measure the strength of a hurricane and estimate the potential damage it may cause:

• Category 1: Winds of 74–95 mph, causing minimal damage
• Category 2: Winds of 96–110 mph, causing moderate damage
• Category 3: Winds of 111–129 mph, causing extensive damage
• Category 4: Winds of 130–156 mph, causing devastating damage
• Category 5: Winds of 157+ mph, causing catastrophic damage

LAKELAND, FL (October 4, 2024)  | The City of Lakeland Water Utilities Department has been made aware of a recent social media post. The post claims that an individual attempted to enter a home while posing as a City of Lakeland Water Utilities employee, supposedly to perform water quality sampling.

**********UPDATE**********   The Lakeland Police Department has begun accepting applications for the position of Police Officer! Applications can be accessed through the below link:   https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/lakelandfl/jobs/4661494/police-officer-certified-law-enforcement   Correction for the Application Deadline: The posting will close after the receipt of ...