Fire, law enforcement and support crews from Wichita Mountains, Little River, Tishomingo and Sequoyah national wildlife refuges were dispatched to east Texas to restore emergency vehicle access and provide assistance in communities damaged by Hurricane Rita.
Crews are operating chainsaws and front-end loaders/dozers to clear fallen trees and debris from roads in record-setting heat and humidity. The team has restored emergency access to four southeast Texas wildlife refuges and has cleared all emergency access routes in middle Chambers county and dozens of miles of additional road. They have assessed refuge damages, stabilized buildings, roads and other facilities to prevent further deterioration and set up generators to restore power.
Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge fire management officer, Ralph Godfrey, is the team's incident commander. "There is no way to explain how much help folks need after something like this," said Godfrey. "We are glad to be part of getting these areas back to normal.?
The Oklahomans are part of a 70-member team of Fish and Wildlife Service relief workers that assembled at Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge near Austin the day before Rita's landfall. The team moved into Chambers County on Sunday and established a command center in Baytown.
Twenty-three Service law enforcement agents are part of the team. They have been locally deputized and are providing security for the relief team and are assisting local and state law enforcement agencies with patrols, investigations and guarding fuel and food distribution centers.
NOTE TO EDITOR: Photos (video) are available by contacting Victoria Fox (505-248-6455).
