In tropical storm and hurricane situations, the closing of public accesses is based on the decision of by the Director of the Walton County Emergency Operations Center to close the water. It has been this way for years. When the EOC determines the water should be closed, the public accesses are also closed. As Kurt posed in another thread, the EOC made the decision to close the water at 6pm on Friday.
I couldn't be more confused. So the EOC Director over-rides the LifeGuard crews. I understand that. With South Walton being under a Tropical Storm Warning, I can understand the water being closed, even though it was calm for most of the day yesterday. You wouldn't want swimmers in the water all along the beach, then have the conditions quickly change for the worse. That would be a disaster waiting to happen. However, closing THE BEACH, doesn't make sense. Rising water will naturally close off the beach long before the storm has potential of damaging the TDC public walkovers. I can understand accesses being closed off if water is nibbling away the sand at the bottom of the stairs, and I could only guess that it would be difficult to have TDC staff waiting at the walkovers, for the rising water during a storm, so they could make a mad dash to close off the accesses, during the storm. That somewhat makes sense.
Truluv, I don't think the TDC has the authority to close off access to Grayton Beach. I've never seen the drive-on accesses to GB, closed, even during Hurr Ivan, or the 2005 storms. Water itself will limit one's access, and the blowing sand will sandblast the paint off a car in less than an hour.
I was impressed to see the TDC had removed all of the trash bags from the beaches
in preparation for the storm. Good job!
Yes, the TDC is in a bind, damned if they do, damned if they don't.