Florida sends thanks for Idaho Falls’ hurricane relief

It was nearly a year ago that the Idaho Falls Fire Department sent an emergency team to Florida to help that region respond and recover from the devastation of Hurricane Michael. The hurricane struck the Florida panhandle on October 10, 2018.

Today, the Idaho Falls Fire Department will present the city council with a letter it received from Bay County Emergency Services expressing gratitude for that assistance.

In it, Emergency Management Division Chief Joby Smith said, “It is difficult to comprehend that we are already approaching the 1-year anniversary of this devastating event and even though there is still very much work to complete our recovery, without your valuable assistance we would not be where we are today.”

You may see a copy of the letter here.

The Idaho Falls team also included the Idaho Office of Emergency Management, the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, the Idaho Falls Police, and Jefferson County Emergency Management. Its main mission was to provide a shelter base camp for first-responders.

In addition, Idaho Falls-based Melaleuca also stepped up, to provide chain saws and generators to aid the mission.