All of Amelia Island went dark Friday afternoon after a major power line near Shuckers off State Road 200 was compromised, forcing crews to cut electrical service to the entire island while they made emergency repairs. The outage began at 12:30 p.m. and hit customers of both Florida Power & Light and Florida Public Utilities, leaving residents and businesses without electricity during the disruption.
The City of Fernandina Beach said the line was compromised and confirmed the outage would affect both utility providers serving the island, according to News4JAX. An estimate put the repair work at approximately two hours. Nassau County Emergency Management, however, said the broader repair process was expected to leave the island without power for four to five hours, an estimate reported by Action News Jax. The two estimates were not reconciled, leaving residents with a wide window to plan around.
Officials Urge Residents to Stay Off the Island
Officials urged everyone to stay off Amelia Island unless travel there was absolutely necessary while crews worked, per News4JAX.
Drivers were urged to use extreme caution at intersections and to treat any non-functioning traffic signal as a four-way stop, per News4JAX. Motorists were also told to follow directions from law enforcement on the scene.
Voters Prepare for Disruptions
Voting was not expected to be interrupted. The Atlantic Rec Center was set to remain open under generator power so early voting could continue, with polls closing at 6 p.m. per the Nassau County Supervisor of Elections, according to News4JAX. Action News Jax separately reported that the Florida Department of Health's Nassau County office planned to close for the rest of Friday and reopen Monday because of the outage.
What Residents Were Told to Do
Ahead of the shutdown, Nassau County Emergency Management advised residents to charge their electronic devices, have flashlights ready and plan ahead for essential needs, according to The County Insider. Emergency Management also urged people not to travel to the island unless absolutely necessary while the outage was underway, Action News Jax reported. As of Friday afternoon, it remained unclear which outage estimate — two hours or four to five — would ultimately prove accurate, and no timeline for full restoration had been confirmed.
