HOLT, Fla, Oct. 10, 2026—The buzz of chainsaws and the whirs of generators can be heard throughout the community as Holt recovers from Hurricane Isaias.

Isaias made landfall in Destin at 8:30 p.m. as a category 2 storm packing 105 mph sustained winds (with higher gusts).

A fast moving storm, Isaias barreled through northwest Florida and was gone by 10 p.m. leaving down trees and power lines in its wake. Tropical storm-force wind gusts and rain continued for some time afterwards.

Isaias left the Holt area without power and cell service, for the most part. There were pockets of power. Dollar General never lost power, according to the manager, so it was business as usual.

Primary damage from the storm were downed trees, downed lines and downed trees and lines that fell across roadways and in yards, and some that damaged properties.

One of the biggest impacts left behind was a large oak tree at the Holt Fire District station that completely blocked U.S. Highway 90.

A 12-man Florida Department of Transportation road crew left Lake City, Fla., at 2 a.m. with orders to clear Hwy 90 all the way to the Florida/Alabama state line.

They stopped at the downed oak at the fire station, cut it into chunks and pushed it off the road. The crew lead said FDOT would send someone to come load up the debris and haul it away.

Once the tree was off the roadway, they loaded back up and headed west to the next fallen tree somewhere on Hwy 90.

A second tree fell, this one on the fire station’s truck bay blocking Rescue 31 inside.

A second tree at the fire station toppled and punched a number of holes in the truck bay. Fortunately, no vehicles were damaged, but Rescue 31 is out of commission, blocked by the fallen tree.

There were hundreds of trees down throughout the area. On Wilkerson Bluff Road in front of the solar farm, a number of trees, some with power lines twisted among the branches, partially blocked the road.

In addition to blocked roadways, Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad will have to remove a trees that have fallen across the tracks. And the railroad crossing arm on Main Street, twisted by high winds, is in the down position blocking the tracks instead of the road.

Holt Fire

Holt Fire District has had a busy 24 hours. Including a vehicle fire on Interstate 10 yesterday morning before the wind and rains arrived, they responded to 19 calls. Downed trees, power lines and trees with power lines were the primary calls with a couple of medical calls and another I-10 crash at 10:50 p.m. while the winds and rains were still pushing through.

A trucker headed east crashed into a fallen tree across the interstate. Part of the tree pierced the semi’s windshield. The driver was taken to the local hospital with minor injuries.