Trump official assures DeSantis help on the way to storm-battered Panhandle

Palm Beach Post (FL)

TALLAHASSEE -- A day after President Donald Trump signed a long-delayed, $19.1 billion disaster aid bill, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue met Friday with Gov. Ron DeSantis and pledged that help is on the way to the hurricane-ravaged Florida Panhandle.

Perdue said that "jump teams" of federal agriculture officials will soon be dispatched to counties hit by Hurricane Michael to assist residents seeking aid, while debris removal remains a focus as the threat of summer wildfires looms.

Acknowledging frustration among residents and farmers, who've been awaiting federal help for eight months, Perdue said the government plans to move swiftly now that money is in hand.

PHOTO GALLERY: THEN and NOW: Hurricane Michael six months later

"We expect this to be weeks, not months," Perdue said about when aid teams will be in place to help inspect damage and help communities and residents complete paperwork for farm loans, community grants and funding to help flood prevention efforts.

Hurricane Michael's Category 5, 155 mph winds damaged homes and businesses across a 10-county area last October, destroyed 2.8 million acres of timber and left 72 million tons of wood on the ground.

With summer heat rising, some 233 communities across the eastern Panhandle face a significant fire threat.

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"That's something that we've been working on with the federal government," DeSantis said, following a breakfast meeting at the Governor's Mansion with Perdue, state and Panhandle officials, and representatives of farming associations.

"I know the president understands that risk, and that's something we're very concerned about," he said.

State Rep. Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, pointed out that there are 1,200 miles of waterways within the hurricane's affected area and only 25 miles of them have been cleared of debris.

"We have a significant issue as it relates to their flooding," Trumbull said, adding the region's "needs are vast."

The aid package was delayed for months because of partisan infighting, some of it spawned by Trump's own resistance to assistance amounts aimed at Puerto Rico, which is still recovering from 2017's Hurricane Maria.

In the end, Puerto Rico draws $900 million in additional nutrition and housing aid in the package.

"You've got bosses at the ballot box back in your districts and we need to hear what they're saying and we want to do this as expeditiously as possible," Perdue told officials at Friday's meeting.

In Florida, lawmakers added $221 million to the recovery effort in the budget set to take effect July 1, bringing total state spending to $1.8 billion, much of it eligible for reimbursement from the federal government.

But damage to forests and crops is severe and the recovery could take years, officials said. Almost $500 million of the aid package is for forest restoration.

Jim Karels, director of the Florida Forest Service, has warned that in coming months the state could see wildfires which rival those seen only in western and mountain states, largely because of the amount of timber that's on the ground.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the state's lone Democratic statewide official, said state officials are eager to get moving on relief for the Panhandle.

"This is not a D or an R issue. This is about the citizens of our state," Fried told Perdue. "And you'll see as you go through this, they don't really care about the partisan politics behind this, which has been frustrating so many of us."

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