Bay County Sheriff’s Deputies return from Suwannee County

BAY COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies are back home after a seven-day deployment to Suwannee County.

They were providing Hurricane Helene storm relief around the city of Live Oak. The group of 20 left Bay County early last Friday morning, shortly after the hurricane made landfall in nearby Taylor County.

They relieved Suwannee County Sheriff’s personnel and delivered food, tarps, and other supplies. When they arrived in Live Oak, deputies said there was no power. They had to use chainsaws to cut through all of the downed trees.

But by the time they left on Thursday, they say the city was beginning to return to normal operations.

“As soon as they’re able to take over the function that they normally had prior to the storm, then we can demobilize and start heading home. So when we left, the power was up to 92% throughout the entire county, 100%,” BCSO Law Enforcement Operations Maj. David Baldwin said.

The group took enough supplies to sustain themselves for at least a week. Sheriff’s officials say they do not currently have any plans to send another group to the Big Bend but are on standby if needed.

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