Dozens of disaster relief volunteers equipped with tarps, compact track loaders, and chainsaws have begun descending on the Florida Panhandle as Team Rubicon has stood up its first Hurricane Isaias disaster relief operation there. Isaias made landfall on the Florida Panhandle on October 9 as the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season. The Category 2 Hurricane left downed trees and power lines, debris, and flooding across the Panhandle and Alabama. Areas around Milton, FL, were particularly hard hit.
On Tuesday, October 13, the Team Rubicon volunteers, or Greyshirts, will begin providing disaster response and recovery services in Milton and across surrounding Santa Rosa County. Up to 30 Greyshirts are expected to deploy daily to provide debris management, roof tarping, heavy equipment, and sawyer capabilities to help restore the community.
Meanwhile, eight Greyshirts who deployed on Team Rubicon’s route clearance operations immediately after Isaias’s landfall are continuing sawyer and heavy equipment operations. Over the course of the weekend, the volunteer route clearance team removed 54 obstructions in and around Milton.
On Sunday, with linemen in bucket trucks trailing, the route clearance team cut its way across Santa Rosa County, opening a path for the power company to right downed lines and restore service. On Monday morning, the Greyshirt team started the day by clearing a parking lot for the Feeding the Gulf Coast distribution point, then continued opening other access points in Milton.
Once all route clearance work is completed and no other assistance is needed, Greyshirts on that team are likely to step into the disaster relief operation in Santa Rosa County, or join additional operations that may stand up—including one expected to launch in Pensacola, soon. Team Rubicon’s Hurricane Isaias relief operations are currently scheduled to run through at least October 21.
