A ravaged landscape was visible across Everglades National Park and other national parks in South Florida/NPS

An island-wide curfew was in effect Thursday as St. John and Virgin Islands National Park started to dig out from the aftermath of two hurricanes, Irma and Maria, in the past two weeks.

In South Florida, meanwhile, crews continued to clear away the debris from Hurricane Irma, with some limited access allowed in some parks.

At St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the curfew was in place while "military and first responders clear the roads and ensure the security of residents, powerlines, structures," St. Johns Community Foundation Executive Director Celia Kalousek wrote on the group's Facebook page. "The Department of Tourism continues to encourage travelers to postpone trips to the islands at this time as it further evaluates the damage caused by the hurricanes and coordinates ongoing evacuation efforts."

National Park Service officials had no word on the conditions on St. John, noting only that all parks in the Caribbean remained closed for damage assessments and recovery work.

"We continue to work with our federal partners and our friends across the mainland and around the world, to clean up and reconstruct the beautiful U.S. Virgin Islands. Always remember, we are strong and we are resilient. We will provide further updates as communications are fully restored,” Kenneth Mapp, governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, said Wednesday night.

The U.S. Virgin Islands' Department of Tourism was encouraging travelers "to postpone trips to the islands at this time as it further evaluates the damage caused by the hurricanes and coordinates ongoing evacuation efforts," the community foundation noted.

In a possibly regretable move, in light of the damage Hurricane Maria delivered to Puerto Rico, Park Service personnel from St. John on Tuesday were relocated to Puerto Rico "as a safety precaution," according to a post on San Juan National Historic Site's Facebook page.

Ms. Kalousek, in spite of the virtually back-to-back storms, continued to express optimism.

"The true spirit of St. John continues to emerge from the wreckage, and the St. John Community Foundation and others are taking specific action now to put into place the resources to allow effective short and long term recovery efforts," wrote Ms. Kalousek. "Thank you for helping us make that happen...our community is strong! We did survive and WILL rebuild! Support coming in now will help us revive and rebuild in what is going to be a long road ahead."

In Florida, the following parks were closed:

* Big Cypress National Preserve

* Biscayne National Park

* DeSoto Natinoal Memorial

Parks in Florida that were partially open included:

* Dry Tortugas National Park, where only the marine waters including Garden Key Harbor and Bird Key Harbor were open to visitors

* Everglades National Park, were private airboating was being allowed Thursday east of the L-67 Canal and as far south as Buzzards Roost / Grossman's Ridge.

"Numerous derelict vessels have been identified along the Gulf Coast and in Florida Bay," the Park Service said. "These vessels will be posted with the National Crime Information Center."

To the north of Florida, Cumberland Island National Seashore remained closed, as was Fort Pulaski National Monument, both in Georgia, and Fort Sumter National Monument in South Carolina.