public-safety Archive

If you were at Bear Lake, the popular recreation area in Blackwater State Forest, on Sunday, June 2, you might have noticed multiple Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office K9s and large groups of people carrying out individuals on makeshift stretchers. While this might have looked like a pretty serious situation, there was no need for alarm. The Sheriff’s Office K9 unit wasn’t searching for someone lost and those people carrying others on stretchers weren’t carrying anyone that was hurt. It was all a simulation.

Navarre’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) held a training session Sunday, March 3, at Holley Navarre Fire District Station 45. The training session was part of a six-session training course to prepare residents of Santa Rosa County for emergencies and how they can help their community. Five people participated in the course. Four were from Navarre and one from Pace.

Governor Ron DeSantis provided updates about the January severe weather event at the State Emergency Operations Center. Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 24-03, which designates 49 counties as being under a state of emergency in order to maximize resources available to impacted counties. In preparation for the severe weather, on Monday Governor DeSantis activated the Florida National Guard.

School safety is a top priority for schools across the country, especially after tragedies like the ones at schools in Uvalde, Texas, and Parkland, Florida. Last year, Santa Rosa District Schools decided to pursue the implementation of a guardian program, based on the state’s Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program. The program, which is meant to add an extra layer of protection for schools, has not been fully implemented.

Santa Rosa County Public Safety is urging residents to be prepared for the cold weather that will settle Tuesday night through Wednesday morning by remembering the 5 P’s of cold weather safety.

Santa Rosa County is under a freeze warning from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m., except for the immediate coast. Temperatures are expected to be at their coldest early Wednesday morning with many areas of the county dipping to 32 degrees or below.

The Florida Forest Service’s Blackwater Forestry Center is issuing words of warning for anyone considering any outdoor burning activities in the coming days: Use extreme caution or simply don’t do it.

According to the Florida Forest Service, it has been more than two weeks since most of the three-county area (Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties) has seen rainfall and wildfire danger is on the rise. Add to that a forecast calling for increased winds and low humidity for the next three days and firefighters are bracing for the possibility of significant fire activity.

At this time, Hurricane Ian is not projected to hit our area but that doesn’t mean it can’t still impact local weather.

The latest update from US National Weather Service Mobile says that while Hurricane Ian is expected to generally stay east of this area of the Florida Panhandle, but Northwest Florida will still see some impacts.

Following a reported positive test result for rabies in a kitten, the Florida Department of Health has issued an alert for the East Milton area. The alert was issued on Aug. 10 and will be in effect for 60 days.

The Department of Health wants all residents and visitors in Santa Rosa County to be aware that rabies is present in the wild animal population and domestic animals are at risk if they are not vaccinated. An animal with rabies could infect other wild or domestic animals that have not been vaccinated against rabies.

Heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding, particularly of low lying and urban areas, is possible beginning late today, Tues., July 12, with the threat increasing through Sunday morning, according to the US National Weather Service in Mobile.

Two to four inches of rainfall are possible north of I-10 with those closer to the coast receiving four to six inches of rainfall. Storms could train over the area increasing the threat of flash flooding.

MILTON — Fire Chief Robert Toole will have to continue his wait for a new fire station in East Milton as Santa Rosa County Commissioners continue to discuss the best location for it. "This is the …