California Sends Specialized Personnel to Assist with Hurricane Ida

At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Gov. Gavin Newsom approved the deployment of urban search and rescue (US&R) specialized personnel to Louisiana to assist in disaster response for Hurricane Ida. California maintains search and rescue resources within the state and the deployment does not draw from resources in use to combat wildfires.

“As we manage the ongoing emergency response to wildfires and support impacted communities, California is carefully assessing and balancing resources to answer the call to aid our fellow Americans in a time of great need, as we have so often received support ourselves in recent years,” said Newsom.

Part of the National US&R Response System administered in California by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), the Oakland-based California/FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force-4 joins with US&R incident support specialists to assist with search and rescue operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

The California/FEMA US&R Task Force deployed to Baton Rouge is based in the Oakland Fire Department, with participation from several surrounding fire agencies. The Type 3 task force being deployed includes 35 members and 10 ground support personnel. These professionals are trained and equipped to provide water rescues, technical and canine search, rescue, medical and other specialized capabilities.