LAKE CITY, Fla. — Bucket trucks filled the streets of Lake City Saturday afternoon, with the impact from Tropical Storm Debby looming.
Hundreds could be seen coming in and out of the Florida Gateway Fairgrounds.
An FPL spokesperson said the fairgrounds serve as a command center for linemen from across the country to check in to see where they’ll be needed in Florida.
While they prepare to help after the storm, folks around Lake City have been gearing up before the storm – filling sandbags just a few miles from here.
“The wind is going to be blowing, and it’s going to be a storm," said Kenzie Crews, while she filled bags full of sand.
When Crews' grandparents told her they were going to have some ‘fun in the sand,’ she thought that meant they were squeezing in a beach day before Tropical Storm Debby comes through.
She didn’t expect to be filling sandbags with her siblings.
“I definitely wasn’t, but here I am," said Crews.
The Crews weren’t the only ones bringing a new definition to fun in the sand, as an official with Columbia County says more than 2,100 sandbags were filled in the first day after opening the station at Southside Sports Complex.
Meanwhile, public works crews spent their day at retention ponds across Columbia County, pumping them down ahead of the storm.
“Try to get it where it’ll be manageable if we get a significant amount of rain from this storm," said Columbia County Emergency Management Director Shayne Morgan.
Morgan is hoping Columbia County isn’t in the direct line of the storm like it was less than a year ago with Hurricane Idalia.
“We’re all having to watch, and there is no comfort zone right now, especially coming off [Hurricane] Idalia," said Morgan.
Linemen from across the country started streaming into Lake City as well.
An FPL spokesperson said Lake City is typically where companies send contract crews ahead of storms, given its proximity to Interstate 10 and Interstate 75.
Now that her sandbags are filled, Crews just needs one more thing to ride out the storm.
“Pringles," said Crews.
Columbia County will open its Emergency Operations Center on Sunday.