News & Columns > Michael P. Neufeld > County Sends Team to Help Gustav Victims (Update)

County Sends Team to Help Gustav Victims (Update)

Four Head to Gulfport, Mississippi

By Michael P. Neufeld
Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Update - Wednesday 8:20 a.m.

Gulfport, Mississippi - A team of four San Bernardino County Fire officials are now in Gulfport, Mississippi, to help the community recover from Hurricane Gustav.

The Incident Management Team that includes Mountain Division Chief George Corley departed late yesterday for the Gulf Coast community.

San Bernardino County Fire Mountain Division Chief George Corley (Photo by San Bernardino County Fire.)

Other members of the team, expected to be in Gulfport at least through Friday, include North Desert Division Chief Tim Wessel, South Desert Division Chief Alan Stocker and Valley Division Battalion Chief Gary Bush.

The team's primary mission will be to support Gulfport's creation of a written Incident Action Plan that includes a scenario based around a Category 4 or greater hurricane.

Original Story - Monday, 11:40 a.m.

San Bernardino, CA - San Bernardino County, which provided assistance to the people of Gulfport, Mississippi, following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, is once again gearing up to help its adopted Gulf Coast neighbor in the event Hurricane Gustav yields the same destructive force.

Meanwhile, RIMOFTHEWORLD.net (ROTW) transcribers are already assisting police and fire agencies in the path of Hurricane Gustav much like they do here in the mountain communities during local disasters. The ROTW volunteers have been working night and day as the hurricane struck the Gulf Coast.

San Bernardino County Fire Chief Pat Dennen (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

San Bernardino County Fire Chief Pat Dennen reports his department has established a six-member Incident Command Team for deployment to Gulfport during the next few days, if needed. They would remain in the city for as long as it takes national disaster authorities to arrive and begin providing assistance. The team includes an incident commander, a safety officer, a technical rescue technician, and specialists in operations, planning, and logistics.

The county will also identify other resources in the areas of Public Works, Facilities Management, Public Health, and others, that could be dispatched to Gulfport should the need arise.

"We are praying that Gulfport and the entire Gulf Coast are spared," said Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Gary Ovitt, who contacted Gulfport Mayor Brent Warr on Friday to offer the county's assistance.

"However, we don't plan to wait until the hurricane passes or until Gulfport is languishing before making plans. We promised the people of Gulfport that the County of San Bernardino would be there for them should they need us, and we intend to keep that promise," Supervisor Ovitt said.

The county's relationship with Gulfport began shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, as the county sought to provide direct relief to a fellow local government agency, and became aware of Gulfport's plight.

The county provided nearly $70,000 worth of assistance to Gulfport, including more than $42,000 in gift cards donated by county employees to help the people of Gulfport purchase clothing, home repair items, and other essentials. The county also organized donations of surplus vehicles, power tools, generators, and other recovery tools from cities within the county and rented trucks and deployed staff to deliver the items to Gulfport in Katrina's wake.

Three weeks after Katrina the county conducted a fact-finding mission to Gulfport. Disaster responders from the county and several cities spent time with their counterparts in Gulfport, and much of what was learned during the mission was incorporated into the county's disaster plans.

The Board of Supervisors also passed a resolution formally adopting Gulfport, and Vice Chairman Ovitt has continued leading the charge to assist in Gulfport's recovery by organizing economic development efforts for the city.

The county's relief efforts were honored with a 2006 National Association of Counties Achievement Award and the 2006 Inland Empire Red Cross Humanitarian Award.