Eric Jones, who helped coordinate emergency planning during the Democratic National Convention, didn’t have much time to catch up on sleep after the Democrats left town.
Two days after the DNC ended, the Red Cross disaster officer, who lives in Washington Park, found himself headed to Baton Rouge, La., to help lead relief efforts for Hurricane Gustav.
Since his arrival in Baton Rouge at 2 p.m. Saturday, he had gotten only six hours of sleep by Monday afternoon.
Jones normally is the Red Cross disaster officer for Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.
For Hurricane Gustav, he became the government liaison for the Red Cross to the state of Louisiana.
“They have a nice, tight concerted plan, and they are executing it to perfection,” Jones said in a telephone interview. “What’s happening here is unprecedented.”
The response is vastly superior to the one that existed when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region, Jones said.
Other Coloradans responded to the threat, too.
About 30 members of the Colorado Army National Guard’s 2nd Battalion of the 135th Aviation Unit will mobilize this morning to support civilian authorities in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.
Colorado Task Force One, an urban search-and-rescue team from Colorado made up of 70 firefighters, went to Texas on Friday.
The American Red Cross Mile High Chapter in Denver also sent more than 20 local volunteers to aid in the response efforts.
The Dumb Friends League in Denver on Sunday received 89 cats from Louisiana at the league’s Quebec Street shelter.
Jones said the evacuation plan for Gustav involved emergency shelters in Louisiana and nine other states — Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida and Indiana.
News that the levee system protecting New Orleans had withstood the initial impact of the hurricane didn’t cause him to let down his guard, saying inland storms still may cause flooding.
“It’s the one-two punch that gets you every time,” Jones warned.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
