Hurricane re-entry decals available

In light of the hurricane season, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office wants to remind everyone about Hurricane Re-entry issues in the event of an evacuation order in the Florida Keys.

Hurricane Re-entry decals, color coded for different areas of the Keys, are currently available at all Sheriff’s Office substations and the Sheriff’s Office Headquarters building on Stock Island. They are also available from all tag offices in the Keys, Key West City Hall, Islamorada City Hall and the Ocean Reef Public Safety Communications Center. The decals will be used to identify Monroe County residents at the re-entry point in Florida City after a storm has passed. The city of Key West is issuing its own decal, which will also be honored at the re-entry point in Florida City. A re-entry decal is meant to speed up the re-entry process, but is not mandatory to re-enter the Keys. If a person does not have a decal, he or she may also present a driver’s license with a Keys address, or some other proof of residency or proof of home or property ownership.

The hurricane re-entry stickers are orange in color for lower Keys residents (from Key West to the south end of the Seven Mile Bridge), blue for middle Keys residents (from the north end of the Seven Mile Bridge to the south end of the Long Key Bridge) and yellow for the upper Keys (from the north end of the Long Key Bridge to the county line, including Ocean Reef.

The Monroe County rumor control hot line number is 1-800-955-5504. When calling the rumor control number during or after a storm, however, residents need to be patient.