By Mackenzie Bodell
The Gazette
MCDOWELL COUNTY, N.C. — After spending the past several days in North Carolina working on countless search and rescue missions after the deadly Hurricane Helene, five Colorado Springs firefighters are heading down to Florida in anticipation of Hurricane Milton.
Four members of the Colorado Springs Fire Department and one with Fort Carson are part of a 35-person urban search and rescue task force deployed to storm-ravaged areas.
These individuals are equipped to handle various search and rescue missions, including water rescue and wide-area searches.
On Sept. 26, the team first left southern Colorado for Pinellas County, Florida, where they spent a few days before being redirected farther north.
Colorado Springs and Fort Carson firefighters sent out east to assist in Hurricane Helene
Four members of the Colorado Springs Fire Department and one with Fort Carson have been deployed down to Florida to assist with Hurricane Helene as the storm continues impacting the East Coast.
The crew spent eight days total in North Carolina, during which they were able to locate a woman who had been missing for several days after the storm, sheltering in the remains of her house in an isolated area.
Now, the group is being sent back to Florida, where they will join six other FEMA USAR teams already in place. The team was expected to arrive in the Orlando area Monday night.
According to officials, Hurricane Milton has “rapidly intensified to a Category 5 hurricane, with winds up to 175 mph, and could likely impact the same areas hit by Hurricane Helene.”
The center of Hurricane Milton could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay region, the Associated Press reports. That area remains in recovery mode after Helene.
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