East Idaho team describes disaster relief in Florida following Hurricane Michael
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BAY COUNTY, Florida — It’s difficult for local emergency responders to adequately describe the devastation in Florida caused by Hurricane Michael on Oct. 10.
“When we were driving in … everyone was just in awe of what we were seeing,” Idaho Falls Fire Department spokeswoman Kerry Hammon said. “I’d never seen anything like this.”
Hammon is one of 10 eastern Idaho emergency responders who arrived in Bay County, Florida, on Wednesday to help with disaster relief. She compared her initial drive through the Florida panhandle as similar to a drive to Island Park in terms of the number of trees. But in Florida, about three quarters of those trees had been knocked over. Power poles, road signs, sheet metal and even concrete barriers were knocked over or damaged and littered the sides of the main roads.
“They told us, ‘It’s basically like snow removal for you guys.’ We just had to start plowing debris off our roads,'” Hammon recalled in a phone call Saturday.
Hammon and the other locals didn’t have a lot of time to tour the devastation though, as they were put to work very quickly.
The local responders make up the All Hazards Incident Management Team, which is made up of staffers from the Idaho Falls Police and Fire departments, Jefferson County Emergency Management, Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, and the Idaho Office of Emergency Management. They are classified as a Type 3 Incident Management Team, which can be called up by the governor to help other states during or following a disaster. East Idaho benefited from a number of out-of-state incident management teams this year during fire season.
This is the first out-of-state assignment for this team since it was formed two years ago.
“The people of the state of Florida need our help now, and they shall get it,” Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter said in a news release. “I am very proud that Idaho and local governments are sending our folks to assist many of the people in Florida who are suffering in the aftermath of this devastating storm.”
One of the more unique parts of this assignment is the team hasn’t been tasked with directly helping the public. Instead, they are in Florida to make sure local emergency teams are sufficiently cared for.
The team’s primary goal has been coordinating the deployment of a base camp with contractors to help the nearby staff of the Emergency Operations Center in Bay County. The base camp is located on a nearby shooting range and includes a small medical facility, dining area, and the basic necessities.
“We’re here to help the EOC staff … many of them had been sleeping in their offices,” Hammon said. “We popped up this base camp and we make sure they can get three meals a day, and they get showers and bathrooms … or have a cot.”
About 250 people inside the center are using the base camp.
The team is being paid for with federal funds and by the State of Florida. Hammon stressed no Idaho funds are being used during the assignment.
The east Idaho team is expected to be in Florida until Nov. 1. Hammon said the plan is for them to continue managing this base camp; however, it’s possible they may be tasked with setting up another camp for other emergency responders in a different area before they leave.
