Idaho sending crews to help with Florida recovery

Groups from all over the country are going to Florida to help with recovery following Hurricane Michael. Idaho is the latest state to send help.

Ten members of the Idaho All Hazards Incident and Management Team left for Florida today after getting the call to go just yesterday morning. The group includes individuals from the Idaho Falls fire and police departments, the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Emergency Management and the Idaho Office of Emergency Management. They will be in Bay County, Florida, for about two weeks, managing a shelter base camp where about 1,000 first responders are living. They are excited to go and help out, but they don’t really know what to expect.

“A little nervous not knowing the unknowns,” said Kerry Hammon with the Idaho Falls Fire Department. “And right now we’re doing a lot of situational awareness, figuring out what’s going on there, where are we going to go. So that is a little nerve wracking. I’m looking forward to helping other people out and to learn because the skills that we learn when we’re deployed, we can bring back home and we can help our own communities in the future.”

Sixteen states have sent staff to help with recovery efforts in Florida.