Okaloosa County keeps eye on Hurricane Ian: Bridge tolls suspended, high surf expected

Officials in Okaloosa County were keeping a close eye on Hurricane Ian, which was a Category 1 hurricane on Monday afternoon with winds of 80 to 85 miles per hour and moving northwest at 13 miles per hour.

The storm was near the mouth of Cuba, with a predicted trajectory that includes part of the Panhandle and much of the state's west coast.

Okaloosa County Public Safety Director Patrick Maddox said swell sent north from Hurricane Ian will result in elevated surf heights of 6 to 9 feet Wednesday morning, creating dangerous rip current conditions that may persist through the remainder of the week.

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"Strong Northerly winds combined with the swell pushing forward from Hurricane Ian will create a very dangerous situation in the inlets where the bays meet the Gulf of Mexico," Maddox said in a news release. "The waters will be very turbulent ... contributing to hazardous navigation, danger to mariners and potential damage to vessels."

Maddox said  significant rain and storm surge threats will remain "well to our East in the current scenario unless significant changes to the track occur."

Tolls suspended at Mid-Bay Bridge, Spence Parkway, Garcon Point Bridge

Currently, Maddox said there were no plans for closing any of the area's bridges or declaring a local state of emergency and no evacuation orders are anticipated at this time.

An Incident Management Team at Okaloosa County's Emergency Operations Center in Niceville is monitoring conditions and will re-evaluate them regularly.

Gov. Ron DeSantis made the announcement Monday to suspend tolls in several Gulf Coast areas, including the Mid-Bay Bridge and Spence Parkway in Niceville and the Garcon Point Bridge in Gulf Breeze.

Okaloosa County is also providing sand and sand bags at two locations: Stillwell Park, 710 Essex Road, Fort Walton Beach; and Public Works North, 1759 Ferdon Blvd., Crestview.

Okaloosa County School District monitoring Ian

The Okaloosa County School District issued a statement on its website that staff are monitoring Hurricane Ian's status but have no plans for school closures yet.

In Destin, Public Information Officer Catherine Card said the city's staff had a hurricane preparation meeting Monday.

"We are continuing to monitor and are in communication with our partners, as well as Okaloosa County Public Safety," Card said.

Eglin and Hurlburt at Hurricane Condition 5

Both Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field have initiated Hurricane Condition 5 to prepare for the possible arrival of Hurricane Ian.

Condition 5 is warning level used by the Air Force to assist commanders in preparing their units for storm response actions.

Hurlburt Field's current base posture remains unchanged and, as a normal precaution, Air Force personnel are preparing aircraft for possible evacuation.