BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
The impact on Bradford County is still being assessed, but strong winds from the outer reaches of Hurricane Helene were mostly responsible for taking out trees and powerlines, leaving thousands here without power from Thursday night, Sept. 26, through much of Saturday.
Since then, concern has turned outward to neighboring counties to the north and west of Bradford County, where residents, including many of the most vulnerable, have been left devastated by the storm.
Local business leaders have organized a collection site at Mosley Tire, located at 14669 S. US Hwy 301, to gather urgently needed supplies for the residents of Steinhatchee in Taylor County. Donations can be dropped off any time before the scheduled delivery later this weekend. Suggested items include, but are not limited to cleaning supplies, mops, brooms, rakes, shovels, squeegees, non-perishable foods, water, sports drinks, trash bags and personal hygiene products.
Monetary donations are also welcome and can be made to the Bradford Sheriff Charitable Foundation or the American Red Cross – Hurricane Helene Recovery Fund.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in North Florida as a Category 4 storm, causing catastrophic damage across the region. The powerful winds, exceeding 140 mph, and torrential rains led to widespread flooding and the destruction of homes and businesses. Coastal areas were severely impacted by storm surges, displacing residents. Power outages affected over a million people, while emergency services were stretched thin, responding to calls for rescue and medical assistance. As in Bradford, many roads were made impassable due to debris. Recovery efforts are expected to take months.
As Helene moved inland, the storm weakened but still wreaked havoc across Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas. Coverage of the aftermath depicts post-apocalyptic levels of destruction, especially due to the flooding. The death toll is over 130 now, with many people still missing. Early estimates suggest billions of dollars in losses, and recovery is expected to take years.
Bradford’s emergency manager, Capt. Brad Witt, offered sympathy to his colleagues in the Big Bend counties like Dixie, Lafayette, Gilchrist, Levy and Taylor who have been through three storms in two years. He also thanked the board, the heads of the county’s various departments and their employees for the support for emergency operations.
“We truly are a team of teams,” he said, explaining that whether it’s public works or law enforcement, the fire department or many others, they come together to jointly face these emergencies.
“You know, we’re in the EOC. It’s warm. We got coffee, we got donuts, we got all that stuff; but there are men and women out there, cold, hot, tired, wet, over it, ready to go home, who spend a lot of hours out there cleaning things up. So, when you see them like I always say … just tell them thank you. They do a lot.”
Witt said Helene changed things up for Bradford. Rather than a rainmaker like Debbie, with Helene it was wind. That made it more difficult to assess the damage, a process that is still ongoing. When it’s rain, you know where to look based on historic impacts, he said. Wind can and does strike anywhere, so emergency management is sweeping the county and using software to document and map the damage, and send the data to the state for possible relief.
They are finding property damage to homes and working with the property appraiser’s office to calculate those costs. While the focus remains on the hardest hit counties, Witt said they are reminding the state, “Don’t forget about us.”
Clearing the roads was a top priority to provide access to emergency services and get things back to normal for schools and businesses. Their approach was “cut and toss,” which is exactly what is sounds like. When a tree or power line was safe to move, they cut it and left the debris roadside to be collected later. Then they moved on to clear the next blockage.
Except for a few where electricity needed to be shut off prior to removal, Witt said most of the clearing was completed by early Friday afternoon.
There have been questions about the debris. The state will have crews clearing debris on state roads soon, he said, and they will move to other county roads in the coming weeks. This is a service being offered as relief to fiscally constrained counties like Bradford. This both lowers the amount of money the county is spending on post-storm cleanup and allows public works crews to resume their normal schedules.
Witt wrapped up by reminding everyone that hurricane season lasts through the end of November, so everyone should remain vigilant and prepared.
