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Local help headed to hurricane area

American Red Cross Crossroads, two local firefighters among volunteers

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  • David Tewes •
  • Originally published July 24, 2008 at 8:59 a.m., updated July 24, 2008 at 8:59 a.m.

Marguerite Griffin and Len Walker headed for deep South Texas on Wednesday even as Hurricane Dolly was raking the Brownsville area with 100 mph winds.

But the American Red Cross Crossroads volunteers planned an overnight stop in Robstown to let the storm pass before heading farther south to help the storm victims.

Griffin said she didn’t know exactly where she and Walker would be deployed. “We’re just playing it by ear right now.”

The two Victoria County residents and their emergency response vehicle were just part of a contingent of workers and equipment being sent from the Victoria area to help with storm recovery.

Victoria firefighters Greg Najvar and Raul Liendo were staging in Kingsville on Wednesday awaiting deployment to the storm area.

They are members of Texas Task Force 1, an urban search-and-rescue team.

“We’re probably looking at spending the night here and waiting for the storm to move on,” said Najvar, who was accompanied with some 100 task force members.

It will be their job to search collapsed buildings and assist with evacuations probably beginning today, Najvar said. Najvar and Liendo were expecting to get their assignment after a conference call with emergency officials scheduled for late Wednesday.

Elgin Janssen with AEP Texas said that company had crews staged and ready to move in after Dolly was gone.

“We’ve got both line and service technicians from El Campo, Victoria, Bay City, Aransas Pass, Kenedy, Kingsville, Laredo, Uvalde, San Angelo and Abilene,” he said. “All are scheduled, prepared, packed and ready to go.”

An estimated 50 AEP workers just from the Victoria area will be moving in behind the storm to help restore power.

The first thing they’ll do is clear the hazards and assess the damage. Then they’ll begin restoring power.

“We should be able to get the damage repaired and electricity back on fairly soon,” Janssen said.

Spokeswoman Jodi Bart with AT&T said that company’s employees in the Victoria area are remaining in their usual work locations.

“AT&T employees from a number of Texas areas have been sent to the coast and are ready to be deployed as soon as the storm passes to assess and repair any damage to our network,” she wrote in an e-mail. “AT&T has a business continuity plan in place and will work around the clock to quickly restore our services.”

David Tewes is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6515 or dtewes@vicad.com.



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