Hurricane Milton rescue, recovery efforts boosted by San Francisco Bay Area crews
As Florida residents feel the wrath of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall Wednesday night, crews from the San Francisco Bay Area have arrived to help with the rescue efforts.
Members of California's Task Force 3 from Menlo Park and Oakland-based Task Force 4 are on the ground, ready to help those in need.
Some Bay Area task force members have been on the East Coast for weeks, helping communities recover from Hurricane Helene. Additional units left the Bay Area on Wednesday and are ready to be deployed to help those impacted most by Milton.
"The team has one objective and the priority at the beginning is life safety," said Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Jonathan Johnston. "So we're out there to do search and rescue and to save lives. That is the priority."
Johnston says about 80 team members from various agencies from San Francisco to San Jose make up Task Force 3. Once a month, they train together to prepare for disasters like Hurricane Milton. On this search and rescue mission, they will be joined by Task Force 4 from the East Bay.
"They're currently headed to Atlanta where they will rendezvous with California Task Force 3 out of Menlo Park to augment additional resources because of the size of this storm," said Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Linda Buell.
Thirteen members from the East Bay left Wednesday. When they arrive, they will be taking orders from FEMA and get sent to the hardest hit areas. Crews hope those in the evacuation zones heeded the warnings.
"We like to advocate, to listen and make sure you are prepared," said Johnston. "Because the goal is not for our rescuers to have to come and save you."
As those in the Southeast get battered by historic storms, Johnston says there is a valuable lesson to be learned from natural disasters for Bay Area residents.
"While we do not have hurricanes, we do have earthquakes," said Johnston. "So same thing. We're asking people here, this is a good reminder to be prepared."