Bay Area rescue and search crews deploy to Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton
As Hurricane Milton is set to bear down on Florida's Gulf Coast, crews from the Bay Area are already being deployed before the storm makes landfall.
There are now two search and rescue task forces en route to the Gulf. One of them has experience there, most recently with Hurricane Irma in 2017.
"So depending on what the need is," explained Menlo Park Fire Marshal Jon Johnston. "Whether it's heavy rescue, water rescue, search dogs and doctors, engineers."
Menlo Park Fire Marshal Jon Johnston is talking about the deployment of California Task Force 3, a team of 46 assorted specialists, now on their way to Florida.
"A number of semis, with all of our equipment, which is about 60,000 pounds of equipment to be self-sustained for 21 days, it's on the roll. And then yesterday, the other half of the team took flight from SFO," Johnston said.
From 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina, name just about any major American disaster and this team was there.
Now Task Force 3 heads to Florida, where they have been before, this time in anticipation of a potentially historic storm.
"You always look at what those situations are and that's where we do hope that people heed the directions for whether it's evacuation, and being prepared," Johnston said.
"Yeah, you wonder what it's going to look like," he added. "But I just ask anybody whether you are here in the Bay Area, being prepared and paramount and key. So that we can do the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. And so if you can, this is always a reminder to have that emergency water, have that emergency food, have emergency power. So that you can be self-sufficient."
As for where, exactly, this team ends up and what they will be asked to do? They don't know now, and they won't for a while.
It will be an hour by hour wait as the storm arrives before they get instructions.
As of Tuesday night, Milton strengthened into a Category 5 storm. Milton is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane late Wednesday night.