Now
Mostly Cloudy
56°
High
70°
Low
49°
Full Forecast

Jobs

Cars

Homes

Rentals

Alerts

Subscribe
Home > News > Local
Bookmark Us   •   Make Us Your Homepage

Local task force returning from Texas

Comments 10 comment(s)  
E-mail Story E-mail Story
Print Story Print Story
Share  Share
Text Size: 
Tools Sponsor

By HILARY KINDSCHUH

Friday, Jul 25, 2008 - 08:00:44 am CDT

The Lincoln Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, which was deployed to San Antonio earlier this week in anticipation of Hurricane Dolly, was getting ready to return to Lincoln Friday morning.

Despite bringing 100 mph winds and dumping more than a foot of rain in some areas, Dolly did not leave enough structural damage to require the help of Lincoln’s 34-member task force, said Lincoln Deputy Fire Chief Dean Staberg.

“We were there standing by, and if something had occurred we’d have been able to get in there quickly,” he said.

The task force, which is made up of firefighters, drivers and canine handlers, is expected to reach Nebraska late Saturday afternoon, Staberg said.

Dolly was downgraded to a tropical depression by Thursday afternoon, and the storm was expected to break up by Friday.

It left behind more than a foot of rain in some areas and broke all-time July rainfall records in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

But with Dolly long gone, 159,000 people in the region were still without power at 9 p.m. Thursday, according to Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s office. The figure was down from 228,000 earlier in the day.

The National Weather Service said the remnants of Dolly, which washed ashore as a Category 2 hurricane, could still add a few inches of rain to some areas. Downed power lines remained the greatest danger. One person in Matamoros, Mexico, died from electrocution after walking past a power line on the ground.

Fallen billboards and business signs still littered the streets, but residents were out and about after hunkering down for most of Wednesday. As the sun peeked through dark clouds, people began cleaning up and expressed relief that the storm didn’t take many lives.

“We’re all OK,” said Hilario Cruz as he chopped up a felled tree that just missed his pickup truck in Harlingen, Texas. “We covered the windows. The water was up to our knees yesterday.”

There will be substantial cleanup: President Bush declared 15 counties in south Texas a disaster area to release federal funding to them, and insurance estimators put the losses at $750 million.

Reach Hilary Kindschuh at 473-7120 or hkindschuh@journalstar.com. The Associated Press contributed to this article. 


$1 Sunday Delivery - Subscribe Today!
Local > Back to Top of Story

Post Your Comment

Standards and Rules
All posts to JournalStar.com are subject to our Terms and Standards.
Your posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.
(optional)
   
Hide Comments Hide Comments   Newest First Newest First  
me wrote on July 25, 2008 8:40 am:
" Way to waste money. Got ya the "big bucks" for a couple days tho.
Tsk Tsk Tsk. "

 Kent wrote on July 25, 2008 9:30 am:
" Since it is federal money that was going to go to teams being dispatched, whether it was ours or not, better some of this money goes back to Nebraskans and the economy than a team from a different state. "

 One Out In The Third wrote on July 25, 2008 10:26 am:
" me...

Maybe the City...State and Federal government should write you a three or four dollar check each year for what you pay in taxes for Fire/EMS protection and you can put out your own fire and haul yourself to the hospital when your heart starts to fail.

It may not be a service we ever have to use...hopefully...but when we need it it's nice to know it's there whether locally or regionally.

I would also bet you would be the first to complain when you needed them and they didn't come. "

 SB wrote on July 25, 2008 10:43 am:
" I feel so sorry and so much compassion for all those affected that it will take all my energy for the next year to build up enough compassion for next year’s hurricane season. Besides my already paid federal taxes and insurance premiums does anyone know where else I can donate to relieve the losses they have had after this terrible and unpredictable storm? Is FEMA accepting? "

 Lessons were learned wrote on July 25, 2008 10:49 am:
" at Katrina and the debacle that followed. I much rather see the team go and be on standby than wait until they are needed ASAP. I noticed that the federal government also responded in a quicker fashion than it did when the hurricane was a category 4 or 5. Prevention is a lot better than "I wish we had ..." or "why didn't they ..." "

 grateful wrote on July 25, 2008 10:53 am:
" People always have to complain, why? We should be happy that they weren't needed instead of complaining that they weren't! I have a friend in Harlingen and I'm very grateful, it could've been so much worse! "

 Grateful wrote on July 25, 2008 12:18 pm:
" Thank you so much Urban Search and Rescue for going the extra mile to care for those in need. I am sure like all of us you had plenty to do here at home. But, no in a few minutes you are out the door to help other families. Thank you and the families left behind for once again JOB WELL DONE! God bless. "

 kent wrote on July 25, 2008 1:04 pm:
" I imagine if the LJS interviewed some of the victims the team helped maybe some others would change their opinions on this. It is deflating knowing that some people need convincing on the merits of helping others. "

 LFR wrote on July 25, 2008 4:48 pm:
" Actually the team was on standby and never actually got involved at all. "

 One Out In The Third wrote on July 25, 2008 6:34 pm:
" LFR...I won't put words in kent's mouth but I think he meant that the LJS should interview some of the people they have helped...e.g. folks in Greensburg...etc.

http://www.kansas.com/static/slides/050507tornadoaerials/ "

Ads by Yahoo!