News Archive

The Florida Highway Patrol is hoping someone will come forward with information about a fatal accident on East Bay Boulevard that happened early on Oct. 1.

A 24-year-old Gulf Breeze man was killed by a vehicle that left the scene of the accident. The victim was walking in the eastbound travel lane when he was struck and killed. The accident happened just west of Zilla Street, according to FHP.

The Fort Pickens Area of Gulf Islands National Seashore will close today, Oct. 5 at 1:00 pm through Thursday, October 7 due to flooding of Fort Pickens Road and Campground. All campground reservations for Fort Pickens will be postponed or cancelled through Thursday, October 7. Park staff will continue to assess conditions for a potential reopening on Friday, Oct. 8. 

There is currently a minimum of 6 inches of standing water in some areas along Fort Pickens Road. 

East Bay Boulevard is closed at 6244 until further notice due to the road being compromised.

“The road is sinking in that location,” said Santa Rosa County Public Information Officer Sarah Whitfield. “The ground is probably just incredibly wet.”

About 2 to 4 inches of rain have already fallen across southern Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties and an additional 1-inches is possible, according to the National Weather Service’s flash flood warning issued at 8:20 a.m. Monday morning.

There are already reports of standing water on roadways including State Road 87.

“We’ve got a lot of heavy standing water all the way up 87,” a dispatcher reported over the public safety scanner. “Slow down. Use caution.”

More money is coming to Santa Rosa County, and the county commissioners tentatively decided where the money should be spent.

During the Sept. 28 commission meeting, Grants and Special Programs Director Lani Birchett presented the commissioners with potential expenditure categories for American Rescue Plan Act funding that Santa Rosa will receive after May 19, 2022.

The weekly report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission indicated Friday that red tide, although affecting our neighbors to the east, has not been observed in Santa Rosa County.

It has been observed in small to medium concentrations in or offshore of Okaloosa, Walton and Bay counties, the latest report said.