Latest news with #RyanCrawford
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Mussett Bayou wildfire: 5 years later
WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – On the afternoon of May 6, 2020, South Walton Fire District first responders answered a call regarding an illegal burn. In just an instant, the wildfire spread 343 acres. Officials said they had an eye on the red flag weather conditions before the fire erupted. 'The cards were absolutely stacked against us, if you will. You know, so that particular day, we had very, extremely low relative humidity levels, rather uncharacteristic and very dry conditions, and strong winds. All of those things together cumulatively created very challenging conditions for us as fire spread,' South Walton Fire District Fire Chief Ryan Crawford said. 115 structure firefighters and around 50 Florida Forest Service personnel were on the scene trying to control the flames. Young family loses everything in Mussett Bayou Fire That evening, residents across Santa Rosa Beach and the Mussett Bayou area were ordered to evacuate their homes. 'When we showed up on scene, you could tell this fire was going to be a containment issue. It actually jumped 98 well before fire ever got to the north side of 98. It was already south of 98. And it was definitely a fire that was going to have our hands full that day,' Florida Forest Service Forestry Supervisor Walter Bowers said. After three hours of battling flames, it had been contained. Following the fire, damages were assessed. Investigators found that 59 properties, 34 homes, and over 300 acres of land were damaged or destroyed during the wildfire. Officials said the community support is what helped them prosper. 'Here are people losing everything they've ever lived for. And they're the ones that are leading the charge with the supplies and the food, and the drinks. And it was just overwhelming,' Fire Marshal Sammy Sanchez said. Man accused of starting Mussett Bayou fire pleads no contest Since then, the area has been rebuilt. New homes have gone up, trees have grown, and fire mitigation efforts have expanded. 'We enhanced our capacity to be able to respond to these types of incidents here in South Walton. We have predetermined mechanisms in place. It's important that we do what we can to prevent history from repeating itself here because it can happen,' Crawford said. A week after the fire, authorities arrested Santa Rosa Beach resident Allen Boyd Smith and charged him with reckless burning of land, burning illegal materials, and an open burning violation. Two years later he was sentenced to one-year probation and 100 hours of community service. And was ordered to pay $15,500 in restitution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
South Walton Fire District puts new fire engine into service
WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Engine 6 is the South Walton Fire District's first fire engine put into service within the past 25 years. The $661,000 engine will help provide better service on the east end of the beaches. 'We've added ambulances over the years. But as this community has continued to grow out here, the exponential growth we're seeing along the eastern portion of our county is really requiring us to be focused on this,' Fire Chief Administrator Ryan Crawford said. The station serves Seagrove Beach, Watercolor, Seaside, and Grayton Beach. Over the past 4 years, Fire Station-1 has seen a 62% increase in calls. That's proven to be challenging at times. 'You know, one of the challenges we have is what we refer to as concurrency, where not one call happens and the engine that's here is tied up on a call,' Crawford said. When several Inlet beach emergency calls occurred at once, a second truck from the Watercolor Station would respond, increasing response time to about 15 minutes. WCFR becomes second in state to earn Gold Tier Pediatric Readiness Recognition Engine 6 will be the second truck located at Station 1 and will put them much closer. 'The national standard is 8 minutes or less. 90% of the time, that requires us to put three engines, a battalion chief, and two ambulances, all at a given location, but it's hard to assemble all at one given place. So this is going to immediately allow us to fill that gap along this eastern portion much, much faster,' Crawford said. The fire engine isn't the only new thing. 'We actually hired nine firefighters to put this truck in service. So we have a minimum of three firefighters per shift that will be on this truck,' Crawford continued. The South Walton Fire District is in the process of building a new station near Serenoa Road, between stations 1 and 2. Once it is completed, it will become the new home for Fire Engine 6. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
South Walton Fire District and Seaside team up for beach lifeguard services
WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – South Walton Fire District and SEASIDE®are proud to announce their partnership to provide beach lifeguard services for SEASIDE®homeowners and vacation guests beginning March 11, 2025. SWFD officials said the contractual agreement for services was finalized following discussions between the two entities about the need for enhancing beach safety within SEASIDE® after the closure of the Van Ness Butler Regional Beach Access in 2024. Sheriff's offices on high alert for potential spring break events 'The closure unfortunately created a three-mile gap between our lifeguard towers in SeagroveBeach and Grayton Beach,' said SWFD Fire Chief Ryan Crawford. 'SEASIDE® has stepped upto provide its residents and visitors with lifeguard protection, which allows us to more effectivelyprevent and respond to emergencies in an area with a historically high call volume.' The beach will be staffed every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the 2025 Beach Safety Season, which includes extended hours during peak times. 'Our goal is to provide peace of mind for everyone who enjoys our beaches, knowing thatprofessional lifeguards are on duty to keep them safe,' said Kevin Boyle, Seaside CommunityDevelopment Corp. General Manager. 'I have the utmost respect for Beach Safety DirectorDavid Vaughan, Fire Chief Ryan Crawford, and Fire Marshal Sammy Sanchez for theirunwavering dedication to protecting our community. Their leadership has been instrumental inmaking this agreement possible, and we are grateful for their partnership. We also applaud AlysBeach, Rosemary Beach, Sandestin, and others for paving the way with similar agreements,setting a strong precedent for proactive beach safety measures across our region.' For more information, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
