Nevada Task Force 1
Clark County Fire Department Battalion Chief John Grana, task force leader for Nevada Task Force 1, loads a vehicle for the trip to Louisiana to assist with the Hurricane Ida aftermath.
Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021 | 9:35 p.m.
When your firefighting colleagues are faced with a tragedy and reach out for help, there’s only one answer: When should we be there?
That was the sentiment shared by Clark County Fire Chief John Steinbeck this week when discussing the deployment of firefighters to assist at two national emergencies.
Southern Nevada fire districts sent 24 volunteers to the Lake Tahoe area in Northern Nevada to battle the Caldor Fire. That’s on top of Nevada Task Force 1 — a team of 35 firefighters from Clark County, Henderson, North Las Vegas and Las Vegas — that arrived this week to Grand Isle, La., at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to aid in search-and-rescue efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
Steinbeck said local departments have been plagued with pandemic-induced staffing shortages, but “we dug down deep and we sent out the personnel that was requested. And if they ask for more resources, we’ll dig even deeper.”
More than 53,000 Californians have been ordered to evacuate from the Caldor Fire that has burned more than 204,000 acres. It’s approaching the Nevada border.
Clark County Fire Battalion Chief Kenny Holding said the mission near Lake Tahoe isn’t yet battling the blaze, but rather handling regular department duties so local firefighters can aid in containing the wildfire — or simply get rest when possible.
“For us to be able to come into their stations and provide a little bit of a break, to help them get their lives back in order, to get reset again, to go back and engage the wildfire,” Holding said. “It’s been an amazing experience for us.”
In Louisiana, Nevada Task Force 1 has been in regular communication with Steinbeck back in Clark County. Steinbeck — who was a part of the response team after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the New Orleans area in 2005 — said they’ve been receiving updates via satellite phone.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said the state suffered “catastrophic” damage to its power grid as hundreds of thousands remain without power. AT&T said it was working to get its wireless network back to normal, and a spokeswoman with Cox Communications said it was sending utility crews from Las Vegas to restore internet access for its customers around Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
Clark County Fire Department Battalion Chief John Grana, who’s leading Nevada Task Force 1, said in a call Wednesday the unit was scouting Grand Isle, Louisiana’s last inhabited barrier island, before moving forward with rescue operations. Grana said the task force will stay as long as needed, and it’s too soon to say if other volunteers from Southern Nevada will be needed.
Ida’s 150 mph winds made it one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. mainland, even stronger than Katrina. Missing from Ida’s destruction, however, was the devastating flooding caused by Katrina, which overwhelmed levees in New Orleans and was blamed for 1,800 deaths.
While Ida has only been blamed for at least six deaths as of Wednesday, it likely caused tens of billions of dollars in damage.
Steinbeck didn’t say how long they would be deployed. Still, he’s proud of the effort.
“It’s exhausting and rewarding,” Steinbeck said. “You’re pretty much on your own when you’re out there. That’s why we make the task force very robust in its logistical capabilities.
“We couldn’t be more proud of our people in Lake Tahoe and in Louisiana. Not only are they making Clark County proud, but as far as I’m concerned, all of Southern Nevada.”
