Two Killed In Highway 97 Crash In Walnut Hill
January 24, 2025
Two people were killed in a three-vehicle crash Thursday afternoon in Walnut Hill.
The crash happened on Highway 97 just south of North Highway 99 and involved two pickup trucks and a passenger car.
One pickup truck came to rest upside down in Highway 97. That driver was airlifted to the hospital as a trauma alert. The second pickup ran off the road and struck a ditch; that driver was not seriously injured.
A Mazda car left the roadway and struck a large fence post. Both occupants of the car were pronounced decease on the scene.
It did not appear that there was any snow or ice on the roadway before the crash. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating and has not released the cause of the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Responds To Nearly 1,000 Emergency Calls Throughout Winter Storm
January 24, 2025
During this week’s icy roadways and dangerous conditions due to record setting snowfall, Escambia County first responders never stopped responding to emergency calls, runner nearly 1,000 calls since Tuesday morning.
From 7 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21 to 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 Escambia County Emergency Communications dispatched 960 calls for service throughout the county, including 568 Emergency Medical Services calls and 392 Fire Rescue calls.
As with any emergency or natural disaster, Escambia County Public Safety has plans in place to increase staffing and remain ready to respond quickly to calls for service. Even during the height of the snowstorm when visibility was low and road conditions were dangerous, first responders were out running emergency calls.
“I am incredibly proud of our Public Safety team for always being ready and willing to respond, often putting their own safety and comfort aside to protect and serve our community,” Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore said. “It’s times like this when the public relies on us the most, and I am proud to say that we never stopped responding to emergency calls during this unprecedented and historic snowstorm for Northwest Florida.”
The Escambia County Emergency Operations Center has been staffed 24/7 since Monday, Jan. 20 and remained active throughout the winter storm. Public Safety officials began planning for and meeting about the severe winter weather last week, working closely with community partners to determine a plan for cold weather shelters, first responder staffing, emergency responses, and more. Escambia County EMS and Fire Rescue crews stayed overnight at the EOC ahead of and during the storm to ensure they were ready to respond quickly without having to drive to work in dangerous conditions.
Escambia County also worked closely with local, state, and federal partners including the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Department of Transportation to ensure there was a plan in place for transporting individuals off Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key in an emergency, even if the roads became impassible for emergency vehicles.
“Had there been a point in time where the bridges had been completely impassible even by EMS, we worked out an arrangement with the Coast Guard to transport patients from the beaches to the mainland if necessary,” Escambia County Emergency Manager Travis Tompkins said. “Fortunately, we did not have to use this plan since there were no major incidents.”
Tompkins emphasized the importance of listening to local officials during situations like this when messaging is shared to help keep the public and first responders safe.
“When we put messaging out during an emergency, it is for everyone’s safety,” Tompkins said. “I am so very thankful that the public took note of our messaging to stay off the roads — that helped tremendously with keeping everyone safe.”
Escambia County Public Works crews also worked with Public Safety to clear roads and bridges after the storm, ensuring they were accessible for emergency vehicles to respond to calls. Additionally, Public Works crews worked diligently ahead of and during the storm to sand all bridges throughout Escambia County, working overnight from Monday afternoon into Tuesday morning to prep roadways.
“This was a historic event for Escambia County, Northwest Florida, and the entire state of Florida,” County Administrator Wes Moreno said. “Even with unprecedented amounts of snowfall, I am very proud of how hard our county staff has worked before, during, and after this storm to serve the public and keep everyone safe. Thank you to our Public Safety and Public Works crews for their continued efforts to clear roadways and respond to calls, and to our residents for their patience as we work together to return to normal. Please continue to stay off the roads unless travel is necessary, for your safety and the safety of our first responders.”
Pictured: Escambia County EMS on scene of a seven vehicle wreck on Highway 97 south of Walnut Hill during Tuesday afternoon’s record snowfall. Pictured below: Escambia County Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore clears ice from his windshield wipers at Highway 99 and Highway 99A near Walnut Hill Tuesday afternoon in an effort to approve visibility. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Friday Night Back In Lower 20s
January 24, 2025
Here is the complete North Escambia area forecast
Tonight: Clear, with a low around 22. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 51. Wind chill values between 20 and 30 early. East wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 34. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph after midnight.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 61. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the morning.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. Calm wind.
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48.
Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63.
USPS Resuming Normal Mail Delivery
January 24, 2025
The U.S. Postal Service is working to resume normal mail delivery following this week’s historical snowfall.
Tiffany Rowland, a USPS communications specialist told NorthEscambia.com that mail carriers will continue to make every attempt to deliver to all addresses as long as it is safe to do so.
“The U.S. Postal Service takes seriously the safety and well-being of both customers and employees. The winter weather conditions experienced in Florida this week were unprecedented,” she said. “We ask our customers to please be patient if they are expecting packages or specific mailpieces, as there could be some residual impacts within our network. We are proud of the efforts of our employees and will continue to work around the clock to deliver all packages and mail entered into our system.”
Pictured: Icy conditions persisted late Thursday afternoon on West Highway 4 near Canoe Creek. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Early Voting Sites Open 7-7 Friday And Saturday
January 24, 2025
All early votings sites in Escambia County will be Friday and Saturday in the race for the Congressional seat previously held by Matt Gaetz.
Early voting sites will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at:
- Escambia County Extension Services, 3740 Stefani Road, Cantonment
- Molino Community Center, 6450 Highway 95A North, Molino
- Bellview Library, 6425 Mobile Highway, Pensacola
- Asbury Place at Cokesbury, 750 College Blvd, Pensacola
- Supervisor of Elections Office, 213 Palafox Place, Second Floor, Pensacola
- Main Library, 239 N. Spring Street, Pensacola
- Southwest Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway, Pensacola
Eligible voters may choose any one of the seven available locations, each of which is also equipped with a ballot marking device.
Three Early Vote locations that were open during the 2024 Election Cycle are not open for the 2025 Special Primary Election. Those three locations are:
- Billy G. Ward Courthouse in Century
- UWF Center for Fine and Performing Arts in Pensacola
- Brownsville Community Center
The 2025 Special Primary Election is for Republican voters only. The State of Florida holds closed primary elections, meaning only registered Republicans will be eligible for the 2025 Special Primary Election.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Atmore Man Crawls Out of Trunk, Arrested on Drug Charges in Grocery Parking Lot
January 24, 2025
An Atmore man arrested on drug charges after crawling out of a vehicle trunk in the parking lot of Atmore grocery store.
Atmore Police Department officers responded to Ramey’s on Church Street after a citizen noticed someone in the trunk of a vehicle.
Officers arrived to find suspected narcotics in plain view inside the vehicle.
“Just before the officers began a probable cause search of the vehicle, the person in the trunk pushed the back seat down and began crawling out of the trunk,” APD Sgt. Darrell McMann said.
Randy Weeks, 42, was taken into custody without further incident.
Police said a search of the vehicle revealed several grams of methamphetamine, kratom, clonazepam, alprazolam, and items used to ingest narcotics.
Weeks was charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was booked into the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center.
Update: First Judicial Circuit Court System Reopening
January 24, 2025
Here is updated court information from the First Judicial Circuit.
Escambia County Courts will open with a delayed start time on Friday, January 24. All proceedings scheduled to begin before 10 a.m. will begin at 10:30 a.m. Other proceedings will continue as scheduled
Okaloosa County Courts will be open Friday, January 24 for regular business hours.
Santa Rosa County Courts will be open with a delayed start time on Friday, January 24. The Santa Rosa County Courthouse will open to the public at 10:30 a.m. with proceedings previously scheduled to start at 9 a.m. moved to 11 a.m. Individuals summonsed for Jury Selection at 1 p.m. should report as scheduled.
Judge Drake’s final pleas will start at 11 a.m.
Judge Warrick’s delinquency docket will start at 11 a.m.
Judge Hilliard’s video arraignments will be moved to Monday, January 27, and will be conducted with first appearances that day.
Judge Stevens’ family law hearings via Zoom will be conducted at the regularly scheduled time.
File photo.
All Lanes Of I-10 Now Open In Florida
January 24, 2025
All lanes of I-10 have reopened from the Alabama state line east to Tallahassee and beyond to Jacksonville.
Highway 4 Closed At Escambia River Bridge
January 23, 2025
Update: At 8 p.m., FHP still shows this to be closed.
Low Around 20 Tonight
January 23, 2025
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 20. Calm wind.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 46. Wind chill values between 20 and 30 early. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 23. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 49. Wind chill values between 20 and 30 early. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph after midnight.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 64.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 67.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50.
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.