Colorado’s search and rescue task force is traveling from Florida to North Carolina

On Sunday, a search and rescue unit from Colorado traveled from Pinellas County, Florida, to Asheville, North Carolina, to assist in recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene.

The Colorado Task Force is one of 28 FEMA search and rescue teams. Twenty teams were activated to conduct life-saving missions in response to the storm.

“They have worked really hard and morale is still high and will continue to be. You want to work; they want to make a difference,” said Bob Olme of West Metro Fire Rescue, who serves as program manager for Colorado Task Force 1.

The team of 45 Coloradans has been traveling for five days now, searching for survivors of Hurricane Helene over 100 people killed As of Monday morning.

The task force includes firefighters from 17 agencies in Colorado, including West Metro, North Metro, South Metro, Denver, Aurora, Adams County, Poudre, Greeley and Loveland. The team also includes civilians who serve as doctors, K9 handlers and civil engineers.

After leaving on Wednesday, it took two days to reach Florida.

“All night Wednesday through Thursday we tried to get to Jacksonville, but the weather got the better of us, so we turned around and went back to Chattanooga, where we spent the night,” Olme said. “Helene moved on, we ended up in Pinellas County and then went to work.”

This work includes combing through destroyed structures and piles of rubble.

“We systematically carry out a grid search, even if it is a large-scale search, with dogs and people and make sure that no one is trapped anymore. If so, we will rescue them and also document it so that the local authorities can then do it.” “I know this area is clear,” Olme said.

The goal is to help local authorities recover from a hurricane.

“We’re trying to take some of the pressure off and increase their efforts,” Olme said.

The team arrived early on Sunday morning Asheville to save people from the devastating floods in North Carolina.

“It was raining until this morning. Certainly this area is very hilly and mountainous,” Olme said. “We anticipate the water flow will be very different than the home we were in in Pinellas County. There could be opportunities for water rescue as well as large-scale searches and subsequent evacuation of buildings, evacuation of cars and clearing of debris piles.”

Olme will likely have no communication with the task force for several days. Flooding has left the Asheville area without power or cell service. The team has radio contact with the command post, but it will take several days to establish other forms of communication.

“The Asheville area is very interesting. Right now there is no cell service, so Wi-Fi and things like that are not available to us,” Olme said.

But Olme knows the team is working hard.

“As Coloradans, we must be very proud to be able to send such a powerful and well-trained group of people to help someone else we will likely never meet or know in their time of need,” Olme said. “If we need help, we know that people will come and help us.”

The task force typically stays for two weeks, but can be extended for another week.