Baker County declares local state of emergency as Hurricane Milton strengthens

Baker Countys Board of County Commissioners declared a local state of emergency during an emergency meeting after county emergency management staff reported that Hurricane Milton had strengthened to a Category 5 and was expected to affect parts of the state, including Baker County.

The declaration, moved by the meeting chair (name not stated) and seconded during the meeting, adopted a resolution described in the meeting as Resolution 2024-36 and stated it implements Governors executive order 24-215 for Baker County. Miss Little read the resolution aloud before the board approved it by voice vote.

The move to declare the emergency followed an update from John Blanchard, identified in the meeting as Baker Countys Emergency Management Director, who said the hurricane had intensified and was tracking toward the Tampa and Sarasota area but could have widespread effects across Florida, including Baker County. "It's a category 5," Blanchard said, noting the storm had strengthened beyond earlier forecasts.

Blanchard told commissioners the state had issued an emergency order that includes Baker County and that county emergency partners met that morning and planned to meet again at 8:30 a.m. the next day to reassess conditions. He said the school district would decide at that 8:30 a.m. meeting whether to keep schools open or close, and the county was monitoring hotel availability and other sheltering options as people relocate from South Florida.

On localized impacts, Blanchard said parts of Baker County, particularly the southeast, could see about 5 inches of rain and gusts up to roughly 50 mph, and he emphasized that a slight northerly shift in the storms track could materially change local conditions. He said the county was not, at that time, planning to open mass shelters because the wind and rain fields did not meet the countys typical thresholds for shelter activation.

The county also announced sandbag distribution details: sandbags were available at Hartline until 7 p.m. the night of the meeting and distribution was scheduled to resume the following day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for residents who still needed them.

After the resolution was read and the board voted, the chair said there was no further business and adjourned the emergency meeting. County staff said they would provide updates after the partners meeting the following morning.

The declaration is intended to allow Baker County to coordinate with state resources and to take actions authorized under the adopted resolution; the resolution text read during the meeting references adoption of executive order 24-215 and provides direction to the clerk, but the meeting transcript contains an inconsistent rendering of the resolution number when read aloud (see provenance and audit).