Indiana Task Force One Fights Through Several Obstacles In Hurricane Helene Recovery Effort
Source: Indiana Task Force One
MCDOWELL COUNTY, N.C.–Indiana Task Force One continues to fight through various obstacles as they help with the Hurricane Helene recovery effort.
Their latest stop has been in McDowell County, North Carolina, not far from Asheville.
“A church has welcomed us and several teams in to help put us. The community is also very appreciative of the fact that we’re here,” said Indiana Task Force One Leader and Battalion Chief Jay Settergren in a Thursday afternoon interview.
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Settergren and his team are spending a lot of time in the mountains, which can make the logistics of traveling very difficult.
“It creates a lot more trips to get personnel up there. Not all 80 of our crew members go up in the mountains. About half of that usually goes up, but yeah it’s still difficult to get around,” said Settergren.
He says the hardest part right now is just how long the days are with the tasks they need to complete.
“The fatigue and the physical exertion they have to use to get to some of these locations is very difficult. It’s very physical and very draining on our folks, but it’s also rewarding, especially when you can bring back people who are missing to their families,” said Settergren.
Task Force One is using police K9s to help search for people along with technical equipment to look inside debris and make sure no one is left behind.
“Depending on conditions and difficulty, I see at least few more days in North Carolina before they get moved anywhere else,” said Settergren.
More than 150 people have died in six states because of Hurricane Helene.
