Bradford County gives out sandbags ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa

BRADFORD COUNTY, Fla. — Tropical Storm Elsa is expected to hit Florida around midnight into mid-Wednesday, and Bradford County is making sure that residents are prepared for possible impacts.

Bradford County began conducting sandbag distribution at the Bradford County Public Works site on West Market Road on Monday.

On Tuesday, for day 2 of giving away sandbags, Action News Jax spoke to inmates from the Bradford County Jail that helped the event come together.

“We are out here trying to help the community with the storm coming,” said inmate Kyle Mcsbadden.

“We go through the jail, who wants to volunteer? A lot of these local guys they feel like they’re doing something good serving back to the community,” said Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith. “They’re not bad people, they’ve made bad decisions and they’re out here giving all they’ve got to make sure that those who need help are getting it.”

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A new machine helped them prep the sand bags over the weekend.

“[It helped] get the sand all at one time and all these inmates are doing is tying the bags up and loading them here and it’s a rather quick operation whereas before it was all by hand.”

Each vehicle is allowed a limit of 15 sandbags.

Sandra Tyson prepped her elderly mother’s home with the sandbags she picked up here. “I feel good. You know, the area that’s low where her house is, I’ll be ok,” she said. “It felt good to have someone here to provide it for us.”

It’s a shared feeling, as this area braces for potential floodwaters.

“It feels good, you know, that we had a part in helping the community,” Mcsbadden said.

“It feels awesome, it’s great, you know, make sure we’re keeping our community safe,” inmate Traemaine Byoe added.

Residents also have the opportunity to pick up sand at the Bradford County Fire Rescue Station 40 located on SR 16 and Station 90 on CR 227. Both of these sites are self-served so you must bring your own shovel.

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