Tallahassee, Fla. – Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced that the Florida Forest Service has deployed a Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT) to the Florida Panhandle for Hurricane Sally, which includes 36 Florida Forest Service personnel.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner
“With historic flooding in Florida’s Panhandle from Hurricane Sally, we have deployed our Incident Management Team and hardworking Florida Forest Service personnel to support emergency response efforts,” said Commissioner Fried.“We are continuing to work with state and local partners to help keep everyone in Sally’s path safe throughout this disaster.”
The 36-person Type 2 IMT, led by Incident Commander Keith Mousel, was positioned in Tallahassee (Wednesday) afternoon and is now deploying to Crestview, where they will continue to monitor and assess the situation. The Florida Forest Service IMT will be supporting Urban Search and Rescue operations as soon as it is safe to do so.
Additional Information: Commissioner Fried also announced Wednesday that on her recommendation, the Florida Department of Transportation will waive size and weight restrictions on agricultural vehicles for all counties west of Leon County. This applies to vehicles transporting agricultural commodities, emergency equipment, services, and supplies.
PHOTOS: A convoy of Florida Forest Service Incident Command Team vehicles departs the Conner Building of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Tallahassee, en route to Crestview to support Hurricane Sally operations. Click photos for full-resolution downloads.
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The Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, manages more than 1 million acres of state forests and provides forest management assistance on more than 17 million acres of private and community forests. The Florida Forest Service is also responsible for protecting homes, forestland and natural resources from the devastating effects of wildfire on more than 26 million acres.