Washed-out road traps families in Seminole County after Hurricane Irma

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — About a dozen homeowners off Ronald Reagan Boulevard near Sanford have been basically trapped on their properties after Hurricane Irma left a crater where a section of road used to be.

Resident Roger Cassidy showed Channel 9 a section of South Lane where a large section of the road washed away during the storm.

“It’s bigger than your truck right there, you know?” he said.

The roadway is the only way in or out of the community and without it residents have had to make a trek through a nearby ranch just to drive their cars anywhere.

Because the power is out for the residents – and can’t be fixed because crews can’t access the community due to the damaged road – making the hike through the woods at night can be harrowing, Cassidy said.

“It ain’t fun at all,” he said. “At night, you can’t see nothing.”

Homes in the area run off wells, which don’t work without electricity, and that has made the situation even worse, Cassidy said.

“I’ve got no power, no water. I can’t even flush my toilet,” he said.

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Without the road, trash pickup and mail delivery are also impossible, Cassidy said.

Pam Cassidy has called the county every day since Monday, trying to get someone to come out and fix the road.

“We just want to know what’s going on,” she said. “We want to know what they’re doing to fix it. We need to be able to get in and out.”

Cox Media Group