8 WRD - Division 11 Mission Blog

Saturday, March 28, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (SO-PA) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:23:00 +0000

Saturday, March 28, 2009
Report by Neil McMillin via email and Clif Brochman by cell phone
Photos by Robert Heinz

What a difference a day makes. The day started a little slow, but it definitely got more exciting later on.

The river was down, marginally, and the weather was holding cold and dry. Runoff into the Red River and the flow of the water was somewhat reduced according to the media reports.

We began radio watch at 0700 from the hotel. At 1010 we received a call from one of the helicopters asking if we had any tasking for them. After conferring with the LT in charge, we advised them there was no current activity.

With both communications teams in the same hotel, we set-up a combined coms team. We brought the 35’ mobile base antenna on Chuck Woodward‘s truck close to the building and ran the antenna wire up through an open window to increase our range. Then we remained on standby monitoring channel 22A.

It was a long quiet afternoon, but suddenly at 1620 we received a phone call from Bob Smekta at the Fargo Emergency Operations Center (EOC) requesting tasking for one of the helicopters. An elderly North Fargo resident, who had recently undergone heart surgery, needed a medevac hoist and transport to an area hospital. The home was surrounded by water with no dry road access. Using digital maps and GPS coordinates, the Auxiliary communications team was able to provide the pilot with visual landmarks to help guide the helicopter to the correct location. From there the helicopter was able to basket lift the resident from an open boat in the back yard into the helo for transport. While the helicopter was en route to the hospital, the AUX communications team contacted the hospital by phone and let them know that a Coast Guard helicopter was on its way and needed access to the heliport.

No sooner was the first mission completed, the team received an additional request from EOC for a helicopter to pick up and transport three adults. One of the three was an elderly gentleman who had previously had a stroke and they were requesting medical evaluation. The Auxiliary communications team once again helped guide the helo to the location and relayed pertinent information to the EOC and the Hector International Airport where the helicopter set down and rendezvoused with emergency ground vehicles.

The Coast Guard brought out seven people and one dog today via helicopter or airboat.

Our teams worked well together and the last three hours of our day flew by as we got to put our years of training to good purpose. It was a good day.

Friday, March 27, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (SO-PA) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 02:08:00 +0000

Friday, March 27, 2009
Team One report by Neil McMillin via email.

Deployment is sometimes routine, and today was a good example.

We attended a brief meeting at approximately 0710 at the Holiday Inn Fargo, ND to discuss the days operations. We were told that the Holiday Inn, where we were staying, was in the potential flood plain area and we were advised that alternate lodging had been secured further west in Fargo, ND for all personnel. No mention of comms needs at that time.

We proceeded to pack, check out and relocate. Once settled, we notified the EOC of our availability; however, the DART team and Helos were not deployed today, so we remained on standby.

Since the danger to the city of Bismarck had passed, AuxCom 2 team arrived back in Fargo around 1300 and located in the same hotel.

We were later contacted by Mr. Bob Eddy, former 8WR DSO-CM, that he was in the Fargo area assisting with sandbagging at the FargoDome and could meet us to transfer a portable Tait mobile VHF radio he had in his possession. The radio was transferred to AuxCom 2. This allows us to have an operational radio base from within the hotel instead of needing to sit outside in the trucks. With the radio inside, we can keep up with current events on TV and the internet more easily.

We do have a new photo to share courtesy of Chuck Woodward. This image shows one of the US Coast Guard airboats that come in handy in shallow water flooding situations.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (SO-PA) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:25:00 +0000

Thursday, March 26, 2009
Team One report by Robert Heinz via cell phone and email.
Team Two report by Clif Brochman via cell phone.
Photos by Robert Heinz.

Fargo, ND
0730 found us in the daily planning meeting at the Holiday Inn Fargo. The Red River waters were continuing to rise and we had a feeling it would be a busy day. DART Team One deployed to Oxbow, ND along with Auxiliarist Don Garvey. Our comms capabilities were not requested.

At 0840, we received a request to monitor Ch 22 A for helicopter operations. Calls were starting to come in from the public. Sandbag dikes around some homes were starting to give way and people needed help to escape the rising waters.

We monitored the portable radio until 1035 when we established comms with the helicopter. AuxCom1 set up in Holiday Inn parking lot at 1040. We continued to facilitate communications between the helo and base until 1350 when a second helicopter enroute from Bismarck to Fargo entered our area of operation. We continued tasking for both Helicopters for the rest of the afternoon until they secured for the evening. Approximately 25 residents were evacuated via Coast Guard helicopters today.

Bismarck, ND
DART team two and AuxCom2 were on standby in Bismarck today as authorities carefully monitored a large ice dam just north of town. The concern was that pressure created by the ice dam might breach one of the city levees. A breach could flood area neighborhoods in a matter of minutes requiring quick action by rescue teams.

During the morning, teams from the US Corps of Engineers and the National Guard successfully blasted and cleared the worst of the ice dam obstruction and waters started flowing again. Around 1200, the helicopter assigned to Bismarck was released to go back to Fargo, where residents were calling in for rescue help. The rest of the team remained on standby in Bismarck.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (SO-PA) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:12:00 +0000

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Reported by Clif Brochman via cell phone. Photos from Chuck Woodward.

A surreal world greeted us on our first morning in Fargo, ND. We arrived very late on Tuesday evening in cold drizzling rain; but, this morning our world is covered with five inches of snow with drifts between two and three feet hindering our movements and even blocking the hotel side doors.

During the morning meeting it was decided the two Auxiliary communications teams would split up with Team One staying in Fargo with one DART team and Team Two heading to Bismarck, ND with the other DART team and their resources.

Team One’s day was most planning, logistics and waiting as is often the case early in a deployment.

As Team Two drove out of town, we could see that Fargo is sandbag city. Even the electronic billboards flash phone numbers for sandbagging volunteers to call. Big busses of volunteers from the Twin Cities were arriving at our hotel as we left. This is a city with a single-minded focus.

During the first twenty miles of our 200-mile drive to Bismarck, all we saw was water on both sides of the road. This land is a flat bathtub basin and the floodwaters went out for as far as we could see. The driving conditions were marginal with sleet and constant gusts of wind. Twice we ran into water-covered roads and had to detour 60 miles out of our way. By the time we reached Bismarck our vehicles were covered with what we estimate to be thousands of pounds of ice. Fortunately the command center had located a warm garage where we could thaw out our vehicles and the boats for the night.

The main activity today in Bismarck is blasting the ice dams on the Missouri river. Blast teams from the Corps of Engineers and the National Guard went out late in the afternoon and again about 11:30pm. The DART team was also on hand with the airboat in case of an emergency, but all went as planned and they were not needed.

That is the only activity on the schedule this evening. We will see what the morning meeting brings.

First post

noreply@blogger.com (Rhys Parry) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:33:00 +0000

This is the first post to the new Missions Blog for Division 11 of the 8th Western District of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary