This weekend is the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina blasting its way through the Gulf Coast, leaving widespread destruction in its wake and causing more than 1,836 deaths.
Once again response teams in Colorado are sending staff to the Gulf Coast, this time to be ready for Hurricane Gustav.
By Saturday evening, Gustav had grown to a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds nearing 150 mph as it passed over western Cuba. Forecasters say it could be a Category 5 storm when it makes landfall, likely on Monday.
Last week, when Gustav was still a tropical storm, rescue and service groups in the Gulf Coast began seeking help from agencies in Colorado.
“We have been asked by our national office to round up 400 volunteers,” said Robert Thompson, spokesman for the Mile High Chapter of the American Red Cross. “All indications show it’s going to hit.”
Thompson said they have begun to phone volunteers in Colorado and surrounding states who will help set up emergency shelters for people displaced by Gustav, which is expected to make landfall in Louisiana by Tuesday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.
On Friday, two disaster response teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 8, which includes Colorado, left the Federal Center in Lakewood for Louisiana.
A mobile emergency response support team with 12 vehicles and 12 members is traveling to either Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, La., or to Galveston, Texas, depending on Gustav’s path. The team will provide telecommunication assistance including satellite and power generators, while a 37-member emergency response team that deals with logistics, communication and external affairs took off for Montgomery, Ala.
“We’re just keeping a close eye out,” said FEMA spokesman Jerry DeFelice. “We want to lean forward with this.”
Ready to search, rescue
An 80-member search and rescue team, known as Colorado Task Force 1, also left Lakewood on Friday. The primary mission of the force, one of 28 nationwide under the Department of Homeland Security, is urban search-and-rescue operations on local, state and national disasters.
West Metro Fire is the task force’s sponsoring agency. West Metro spokeswoman Cindy Matthews said the group responded to the World Trade Center tragedy and floods in Fort Collins.
Personnel are trained in safety, search, rescue, plans, hazardous materials/weapons of mass destruction, logistics and medical services.
Within a six-hour window, the task force must deploy, Matthews said, and be prepared to work for up to 10 days.
The task force is designed to respond to a disaster area without affecting local resources by being able to support itself for up to 72 hours.
The group started in Colorado in 1992. Participating members are Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Longmont and Fort Carson fire departments; South Metro and Cunningham fire protection districts, and Poudre Fire Authority.
CO-TF1 has more than 80,000 pounds of equipment, including high-tech search- and-rescue gear and logistical support items.
Another local agency contacted to help out is Code 3 Associates, a Longmont nonprofit that specializes in animal rescue.
On Wednesday officials from the Louisiana SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) contacted Code 3 for assistance because of their 12-year expertise in rescuing animals from 37 natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina and the Windsor tornado this summer.
Friday morning five Code 3 members left on a 30-hour drive to Louisiana to assess the situation.
If needed, Code 3 will send its 77-foot-long tractor named BART (Big Animal Rescue Truck), which contains safety gear, three boats, a horse trailer and one all-terrain vehicle to help rescue animals from gerbils to domestic animals to exotic zoo animals.
“We will work with state wildlife officials to pet owners to help out with human and pet evacuations,” said Code 3 executive director Jim Boller.
Staff writer Ann Schrader contributed to this report.
