MIAMI – South Florida first responders are heading north to the Big Bend area Wednesday as Hurricane Helene heads toward Florida.
The City of Miami Fire Rescue’s USAR Task Force (FL-TF2) consists of officers from several different agencies in the county.
“Last night, we received activation orders to go ahead and deploy ahead of Hurricane Helene,” City of Miami Fire Rescue Lt. Pete Sanchez said.
The team has 80 members from 28 departments that are mostly in South Florida.
They are headed to the Central Florida area to be in place and move in once the storm hits.
“We have a makeup of engineers, doctors, k9 handlers, firefighters, paramedics from all over South Florida,” task force leader Christopher Diaz said. “We are supposed to be self sufficient for up to two weeks.”
Before heading out, the task force was checking to see if all their equipment was operable -- from swift water boats, to chainsaws and medical, hazardous and search and rescue supplies.
The deployment is a Type 1 deployment, which is the highest level, where the most resources are provided.
Task Force One is also sending their 84-member unit to assist.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Helene is expected to intensify and grow in size as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico. Heavy rainfall was forecast for the southeastern U.S. starting Wednesday, with a life-threatening storm surge along the entire west coast of Florida, according to the center.
The storm is so large that areas roughly 90 miles north of the Georgia-Florida line could expect hurricane conditions. States as far inland as Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana could see rainfall. On Wednesday morning, winds of tropical storm force, at least 39 mph, extended as far as 275 miles from Helene’s center.
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