Utah Task Force One deployed to Georgia to help with Hurricane Helene recovery
Sep 27, 2024, 5:50 PM | Updated: Oct 7, 2024, 11:31 am
WEST JORDAN — As Hurricane Helene ravages the southeast, Utah Task Force One has been deployed to Georgia to assist local agencies with rescue and recovery efforts.
“Our team is widely respected around the country, and they’re highly skilled in what they do,” said Captain Tony Barker with Unified Fire Authority. “They are our special forces, and when they get deployed, they’re equipped to handle most everything.”
The task force was notified around 8:00 a.m. to begin preparations for a possible activation. By midday, the order had come through, and 45 members of the team had dropped everything in their personal lives to answer the call for help.
“We’ve never been short for personnel that are willing to step up when that that call is sent,” Barker said.
Rescuers race to free people trapped by Hurricane Helene after storm kills at least 40 in 4 states
The team headed to Georgia comprises highly trained rescuers from eight fire departments in Utah: Unified Fire Authority, Salt Lake City, Park City, West Jordan, South Jordan, Provo, West Valley City, and Ogden.
“They are they are sending out boats with these folks, they’re also sending out three K-9 teams,” Barker said. “The disciplines are far-reaching – trench collapse, building collapse, confined space rescue, recovery.”
NOW: @UTTF1 has been activated and is now headed to Georgia to help with rescue and recovery in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The team of 45 Utah rescuers got notice this morning and by mid-afternoon they had dropped everything in their personal lives and were on the road. #Utah pic.twitter.com/V4n6se5hw7
— Shara Park ✨ (@KSLSharaPark) September 27, 2024
Utah Task Force One has not been assigned to a specific area in Georgia, but once the team makes the 25–27-hour drive across the country, they will be assigned an area to work in. It’s also unknown how long the team will remain in Georgia; they’re activated for up to two weeks.
“Sometimes they get there, and they’ll work at their initial destination, sometimes they get relocated to areas of need,” Barker said.
