Photos: Boats line the streets in Treasure Island, which is devastated after Hurricane Helene

This morning access to Treasure Island remains open to only residents, business owners or employees with a re-entry permit.

Last Thursday night, as Hurricane Helene made landfall 215 miles north in Perry, Florida, the Tampa Bay area barrier island was devastated by a record storm surge that left boats in the streets which were covered in sand.

Power remains out, according to officials, and last Friday as Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri described the scene as a “war zone,” Creative Loafing Tampa Bay photographer Dave Decker was there to capture images from one of the cities hit hardest by Hurricane Helene.

At least two people died in the city of less than 7,000, where its mayor Tyler Payne gave Decker a tour and vowed to rebuild.