News Release

Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue Response to Tropical Storm Elsa

July 8, 2021

Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue responded to over 66 incidents due to the impacts of Tropical Storm Elsa that occurred overnight on July 7 and during the early morning hours of July 8.

Incidents that took place between 11:30 pm July 7 and 7:30 am July 8 included:

• Trees fallen into a structure - 6. All were in Sea Pines
• Trees fallen in the roadway - 33
• Fire alarms - 22
• Motor vehicle collisions - 1
• Medical emergencies - 4

All seven Fire Rescue stations responded to the event and a specialty unit with a skid steer was deployed to support removal of the larger trees. The Town's dispatch center processed hundreds of calls in a short period of time. Palmetto Electric reported approximately 19,800 outages on Hilton Head Island at the height of the storm.

Town facilities staff and tree contractors are working on removing debris from the parks. Pathways will be cleared after debris removal at parks are completed.

Please use caution when using the pathways.