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State emergency managers says they still don’t have a handle on the total damage left by Hermine. Assessments will begin in earnest next week, and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the focus this weekend is on opening roads and restoring power.

More than a hundred thousand Floridians began the day without power, the bulk of them, more than 78 thousand in the state Capitol.

Nayda Pophal was making the best of it. “Turning on the light switch and nothing comes on, but we’re okay. We have water” she told us as a tractor cleared a downed tree in the street in front of her house.

Governor Rick Scott found estimates of a week to get the lights back on unacceptable.

“I expect every city and county official to aggressively fix that problem. we have got to get people their power back”  chided the Governor.

Scott has called on Florida Power and Light and Gulf power to help the City of Tallahassee repairing downed lines. Grey skies and temperatures in the upper 70’s kept residents  like Sharon Woodbery from broiling.

“You go to bed shortly after the sun goes down. Kinda like a farmer” she told us as she raked debris in her front yard.

Many roads are still blocked and a small percentage of intersections remain without traffic control. The DOT is working on providing generators for those stop lights still out. The Governor says that  in addition to getting the power back up and running, everyone must join the increased fight against Zika.

“Any amount of standing water can serve as a breeding ground for mosquitos. This is something, just think about it. we all have to take part in this. this is really to protect all the pregnant women and their developing babies” pleaded Scott.

Damage assessment is on going. Emergency managers expect the process to ramp up next week. The emergency operations center remains fully staffed, and for many this weekend, Labor Day will live up to its name.