‘Truly devastating:’ More Washington first responders deployed to North Carolina

Washington Task Force 1 has deployed more specialists from its team to North Carolina, joining a sprawling emergency response involving multitudes of government agencies and volunteers. Officials said more than 200 people were killed by Hurricane Helene, with more than half the deaths in North Carolina.

Seven members of the task force out of Pierce County have traveled to the state as of Thursday, according to Program Director William Palmer.

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Palmer said reports he’s gotten of the situation in the state are grim.

“It was truly devastating,” he said. “There’s a lot of rebuilding that’s going to have to go on. They’re still searching for a lot of missing folks. There’s just a huge mess.”

The deployed task force members include administrative personnel who will aid in food distribution, medical staff and rescue dogs with their handlers.

“They will go and they will search the houses, or the wreckage or debris,” he said. “They will record whatever they find in the way of remains, survivors, hazardous materials – so that as cleanup begins, they know, ‘Whoops, here’s a mix of all nasty stuff.’”

That’s where their four-legged members prove heroic.

“Those little furry wet noses on our canines are our starting point,” Palmer said. “They can detect so much greater than we can.”

Task Force 1 is one of 20 separate such task forces under the Federal Emergency Management Agency that have been deployed to the area, according to Palmer.

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Flooding, power outages, collapsed buildings, impassable roads and dwindling access to clean water and food threaten millions of people throughout Florida, Georgia and North Carolina – one week after Helene struck land. But Palmer said he feels good about his team’s efforts to help those affected.

“When our folks are out there, they’re going after it, they’re having one of their best days, but the sad part is someone else is usually having their worst,” he said. “Because when we show up, something bad has happened.”

Palmer said he hopes his team brings comfort and closure to the families they meet.

Sam Campbell is a reporter, editor and anchor at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Sam’s stories here. Follow Sam on X, or email him here.

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