Southern Nevada-based search and rescue unit races toward Gulf Coast

A squad of Las Vegas Valley firefighters and civilians are expected to get successful Louisiana Monday evening to assistance those impacted by Hurricane Ida.

Clark County Fire Department Battalion Chief John Grana said by telephone that the 38 members of the Nevada Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue squad were successful the Dallas country Monday day pursuing an all-night thrust from Southern Nevada. The team, consisting mostly of firefighters from the Clark County, North Las Vegas, Las Vegas and Henderson occurrence departments, are headed to the Baton Rouge country arsenic portion of a Federal Emergency Management Agency hurricane effect plan.

“We are driving nonstop,” Grana said. “We person alternate drivers truthful we are rotating drivers. We haven’t been told yet what our ngo volition be. What they are doing present is assessments successful Louisiana to spot what the tempest has done up to now.”

The squad consists of firefighters who specialize successful h2o rescues on with civilian dense instrumentality operators. The squad besides has dogs that tin assistance with hunt and rescue efforts.

“We person hazardous materials and aesculapian (staff archetypal responders) arsenic well,” Grana said.

Once successful Louisiana, it is unclear whether the squad volition beryllium capable to pass with their occurrence departments and the Las Vegas Valley nationalist astir their progress.

“My knowing is Louisiana close now, if that’s wherever we extremity up, determination is nary compartment service. And I recognize Louisiana has besides mislaid each internet,” Grana said.

The squad is besides prepared to assistance successful debris removal and immoderate other section archetypal responders request assistance with.

The Associated Press reported that rescuers acceptable retired successful hundreds of boats and helicopters to scope radical trapped by floodwaters Monday, and inferior repair crews rushed in, aft the furious hurricane swamped the Louisiana seashore and ravaged the electrical grid successful the stifling, late-summer heat.

Residents surviving amid the maze of rivers and bayous on the state’s Gulf Coast retreated desperately to their attics oregon roofs and posted their addresses connected societal media with instructions for search-and-rescue teams connected wherever to find them.

More than 1 cardinal customers successful Louisiana and Mississippi — including each of New Orleans — were near without power arsenic Ida, a Category 4 hurricane and 1 of the astir almighty storms ever to deed the U.S. mainland, pushed done connected Sunday and aboriginal Monday earlier weakening to a tropical storm.

Contact Glenn Puit by email astatine gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ connected Twitter.