Tyndall takes direct hit

Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Fla., home of F-22 training, took a direct hit from Hurricane Michael and suffered extensive damage Wednesday. No injuries were reported, but according to the base’s official Facebook page trees and power lines were downed and there was significant structural damage. The base was evacuated before the storm with only a skeleton staff remaining when the hurricane hit. The base, 12 miles southeast of Panama City and northwest of hard-hit Mexico Beach, is home of the 325th Fighter Wing and some 600 military families. As is common practice when hurricanes threaten, the base's aircraft were flown hundreds of miles away as a precaution before the hurricane hit. (Source: Stars and Stripes, 10/10/18) Meanwhile, Gulf Power reported Wednesday that during the peak of the Category 4 hurricane, about 26 percent of customers lost power. "The Gulf Power system held strong from Pensacola to Fort Walton Beach," said Gulf Power spokesman Jeff Rogers. "But the hardest hit areas around Panama City may need to be rebuilt from the ground up." (Source: Gulf Power, 10/19/18)