INTERVIEW: Indiana Task Force 1 Talks Milton Preparation...

Source: Facebook / facebook

GEORGIA — From the Hoosier State to the Sunshine State: Indiana Task Force One is ready to rescue, recover, and clean-up after Hurricane Milton hits Florida this week.

The task force is currently stationed just outside of Florida somewhere in Georgia. For security reasons, Chief Jay Settergren didn’t share the exact location, but what he did share was the 80-person team is checking every box, doting every “I” and crossing every “T” to make sure they’re ready for whatever may come.

“Reviewing safety procedures for getting on aircrafts. We’ve been going through all of our equipment to make sure it’s ready to go,” said Chief Settergren Wednesday afternoon, “we’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect. Obviously, this is a rather large one (hurricane) and we believe it’ll be impactful because it’s hitting a heavily populated area.”

Milton is expected to directly hit the Tampa Bay area: something that hasn’t happen in around 100 years.

The task force team has already been to Florida after Hurricane Helene, which on its own left over 200 people dead and many more unaccounted for.

Despite that challenge, the team has rotated out some members, allowed others to rest, and is ready for the challenge Milton presents.

“The men and women of the task force have done just an outstanding job,” Settergren continues, “they’re good at being prepped and ready to rest. We should be ready to go. (We’re expecting) a lot of rain. Because it’s so big, you know, it’s creating a bunch of tornados which are commonplace with hurricanes, but this seems to be spinning off quite a few more just because of its size.”

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security issued a warning earlier this week, warning people to not try and go to hurricane-affected areas on their own. Rather, the IDHS says it’s best to make cash donations to reputable sources because that support goes directly to families affected by the disaster.

You can hear the full interview with Chief Settergren below: