Downed trees, power lines reported in Bradford County

BRADFORD COUNTY, Fla. – Downed trees and power lines, power outages, and flooding were reported Wednesday in Bradford County as Tropical Storm Elsa tracked through North Florida.

Bradford County Emergency Operations Center said about 10:30 a.m. that it had received five calls of downed trees and power lines on County Road 125 outside Lawtey and County Road 18 near Booker.

Florida Power & Light crews could be seen on C.R. 125, working to fix downed power lines and restore power after trees toppled down on the lines.

Susan Anderson, who lives on C.R. 125, was without power. She said that after she called to report the outage, crews were out within the hour.

“We’ve always had water. We always pull the motorhome over the driveway so we have a generator in there,” Anderson said. “These FPL guys and the JEA guys, they are wonderful. For them to put their lives on the line out here for just us to have power, they’re wonderful.”

As of 1 p.m., according to the FPL Power Tracker, 60 customers were without power in Bradford County.

Early Wednesday afternoon, flooding could also be seen near homes along County Road 16 between Lawtey and Starke. Many yards looked like lakes, as the water was not draining.

It was the same situation near Sampson Lake, where ditches were filled with water and dirt roads were washed out. A couple who lives on Lake Crosby said that even with the persistent rain, they were not flooded in their backyard.

“With the last hurricane, we had water in the garage and in the boathouse, and this year, I think we’re going to survive. The water is rising and it’s still raining,” Bob Sapp said.

Agnes Sapp added: “The wind is worse than it’s been.”

Emergency management had opened a shelter at Starke Elementary School on Tuesday, but officials said it closed Wednesday.