PUT-IN-BAY – Long before the first Luke Bryan fans showed up for the 2025 Bash on the Bay, the Ottawa County Emergency Management Agency had a plan in place for any emergency.
With more than 11,000 people on South Bass Island, the Bash on the Bay country music festival turned the Put-in-Bay area into one of the biggest population centers in Ottawa County for Aug. 13 and 14.
Fred Petersen, director of the Ottawa County Emergency Management Agency, was tasked with coordinating the many agencies that operated under the radar so thousands could party…