ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – This Halloween night, trick-or-treaters will have to walk among the creatures lurking underneath piles of debris that still line Orange County streets after Hurricane Irma hit the area in September.
"It's spooky," said a grandfather named Joe, who declined to give his last name. "And on Halloween, the kids are out here. They are going to trick or treat and it's dangerous for them. A snake might pop out, rats. Who knows what's in there?"
He said he is afraid the piles will spook the kids into the streets on a night that Orange County Sheriff's Office officials say a child is twice as likely to get hit by a vehicle.
"Most likely they are going to walk in the street and there is not that much light out here and cars, they could be dressed in dark colors, they aren't going to see them," Joe said.
News 6 checked on the progress of the debris pickup in Orange County.
On Tuesday afternoon, contractors were in Pine Hills, picking up debris on Powers Drive. County officials said they've already cleared up 60 percent of the debris in the county, and are still working 12-hour shifts, seven days a week until they get it all.
Contractor Jason Simmes explained the types of things that hold them up.
"Traffic. You can see it's a busy road -- school buses in the morning and the afternoon and with the evening commute, after about 4 o'clock a lot of the streets get busy and we don't want to disrupt the normal flow of traffic, so that holds us up," he said.
He said the county's deadline is Thanksgiving.
"We are trying to get it as best as we can," Simmes said. "Hopefully by Thanksgiving everything is clear, by the first pass at least, and everyone will be happier and it will be back to normal."
To see the progress of debris pickup in your neighborhood in Orange County, click here.