County Administrator Brad Baker said the county will clear up to 2 million cubic yards of vegetative debris, which will take longer than most county residents would like.
“We are 54 hours out from a major storm striking our county…and y’all want services back up, open already. That’s just unrealistic,” Baker said at a press briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in Milton Oct. 12. “We’re trying to serve all of you, and we do care about you.”
Public Safety Director Tom Lloyd said evacuation orders for zones A, B and C have been pulled. Baker said residents may return to Navarre Beach, where a boil-water notice is in effect, but stressed that residents should wait until services are restored.
Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Randy Tifft said the curfew was lifted due to more traffic signals coming back online, although 25% remain dark. Tifft was not aware of any incidents during the curfew.
“So what we did worked,” he said.
He urged residents to stay home when possible, saying it took nearly an hour to drive from the sheriff’s office in East Milton to the EOC.
“The more people that ride around in the county, sightseeing, the slower power gets turned on, the slower trees get cut down, and the slower our response is when you need us most,” he added.
Tifft said most calls are combined with a medical aspect, such as calls from residents who rely on oxygen, but more and more deputies are responding to domestic violence calls through the storm.
On a typical day, the county receives 300 911 calls. During the storm, it received 3,500.
Lloyd also warned that carbon monoxide calls have increased due to generator use.
Baker said “cut and toss” clearing, which opens roadways, has been completed except for a few roads and should be finished by Monday night.
Debris removal is scheduled to begin Wednesday, and more than 100 trucks are being certified ahead of the work.
County offices will reopen Wednesday, but the county has postponed the planned Navarre Beach Boardwalk workshop that was scheduled for Oct. 19 to a later date.
Baker also said the county is prioritizing cleanup and damage assessment at early voting sites, with voting expected to begin Oct. 19.
Milton Mayor Heather Lindsay said Milton High School was devastated and neighborhoods across the city were hit hard.
“I don’t know a single street that doesn’t have a tree down,” she said.
Lindsay said she has been in contact with state and federal officials about disaster relief.
“Don’t think you’ve been forgotten, because you haven’t,” she said.
