Gulf Breeze prepared to be cut off, without power

Leaning upon lessons learned in Hurricane Sally, the city of Gulf Breeze is preparing for Hurricane Isaias.

The city is following an emergency management plan fortified following the 2020 storm, and City Manager Samantha Abell said this time local officials have the luxury of knowing for certain the tropical weather is bearing down on them.

“At 24 hours out from the storm that puts us a little ahead on our protocols, that allows us some wiggle room, for which we’re grateful,” Abell said.

Sally will long be remembered in Northwest Florida for a surprising turn to the east that pushed it ashore in South Alabama, and left this region, which had anticipated a relatively gentle side swipe, taking the full brunt of the dreaded ‘dirty side’ of the hurricane as it made landfall. Rainfall over 20 inches in some areas proved devastating.

As Isaias churns in the Gulf, city of Gulf Breeze staff is transitioning toward emergency operations command at City Hall, and will operate from three hubs around the city, Abell said. A natural resources team will deploy and stage at the EOC to be ready to respond as needed during the storm.

“This allows us to respond more quickly to fallen trees or other non-emergency calls,” Abell said, explaining that when tropical weather hits, Gulf Breeze becomes “essentially an island.”

Abell said Hurricane Isaias, with winds expected to be at 80 to 85 miles per hour, could be packing a punch similar to Hurricane Ivan of 2004, which also made landfall in South Alabama and left a swath of destruction in Escambia and South Santa Rosa counties.

“Our advice to all residents has been that they should make other arrangements (to hunkering down), we’ve encouraged them to be already on the road given the current forecast,” she said.

City infrastructure has been greatly upgraded in the six years since Sally. A great deal of effort has been expended toward getting utilities installed underground.

“We know we will lose power and phone lines and residents will be affected by that,” Abell said. “The measure for us will be how long we’re able to keep power up and how early we can get it restored.”

Gulf Breeze will also be deploying a remote monitoring system on city lift stations. The monitoring system gives public works crews the ability to keep an eye on what’s going on within its stormwater and sewer lines to ensure that water is flowing in the right directions.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Gulf Breeze prepared to be cut off, without power

Reporting by Tom McLaughlin, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal

This story was originally published October 8, 2026 at 5:05 PM.