Hurricane Harvey Search And Rescue SoCal Teams Head To Texas

LADERA RANCH, CA — In the still of the night, Orange County Fire Authority's Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 5 was wide awake and packing up for a long journey, 1,350 mile drive to San Antonio, Texas into the eye of a hurricane. Gear was checked and rechecked, loaded and the convoy of California Urban Search And Rescue Task Force 5 readied to roll out.

The south Orange County based task force departed at approximately 2:30 a.m.Friday morning and is expected to arrive at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas approximately 18-20 hours later.

"They are driving straight through," Orange County Fire Authority spokesperson Larry Kurtz said.

Also See: Harvey Still Expected To Cause More Damage

California Urban Search & Rescue Task Force 5 is one of many agencies deployed to Texas in anticipation of Hurricane Harvey making landfall on the gulf coast. Their big rig truck is loaded down for the long haul and the work they anticipate needing to do once they arrive.

Among those present are heavy rigger specialists, canine search specialists and team leaders. Once on site, they will be joining other task forces from Tennessee, Nebraska, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah. The purpose of these task forces is to provide additional support to local first responder agencies.

“Task Force 5 is comprised of highly trained individuals from the OCFA and our cooperating agencies,
and are always prepared to respond to disasters locally, statewide, and nationally.” Said Battalion Chief
Mike Petro, California Task Force 5 Program Manager. “We are ready to assist the citizens of Texas with
our personnel, equipment, and expertise.”

Harvey Could Be The Strongest Hurricane To Hit The US Since 2005

The task force should be in place before hurricane Harvey makes landfall on Saturday, according to Kurtz. If they keep to schedule, that would be approximately 10:30 p.m., Friday night.

The slow-moving storm is expected to produce large amounts of rainfall, increasing the danger of flooding.

A LAFD task force was on standby behind another unit from the Oakland area, said Los Angeles firefighter Wes Schroeder.

Six task forces have been sent to Texas from around the country.
The slow-moving storm is expected to produce large amounts of rainfall, increasing the danger of flooding.

Patch will follow OCFA Task Force 5 on their journey.

OCFA Photos