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By MATTHEW WATKINS
Billy Parker and fellow members of Texas Task Force 1 already have had a long week, but their work was just beginning late Friday as Hurricane Ike's winds plowed their way onto the coast.
The storm was still two days away Thursday when the rescuers safely removed 519 special-needs patients from the Beaumont area -- airlifting 403 people and driving 116.
At 2:30 a.m. Friday, they moved 70 patients from the Medical Center for Southeast Texas in Port Arthur. According to a spokesman, 10 were in critical condition and 10 were neonatal patients.
Then the group teamed up with the U.S. Coast Guard to make more than 100 rescues as water rose in the Bolivar Peninsula area.
As night approached, they were monitoring the storm and plotting where their rescue efforts were most needed.
"This is a time for planning and preparation," said Parker, program director for College Station-based Texas Task Force 1. "We get some rest and we plan our next operations."
Texas Task Force 1 is part of the Texas A&M University System's Texas Engineering Extension, or TEEX. The task force has spent much of the last few weeks preparing for and responding to tropical storms, including Hurricanes Ike, Gustav and Dolly.
Bob McKee, director of emergency response and rescue for TEEX, was working with the governor's office in Austin, directing the state's emergency response. He oversaw about 200 members of Texas Task Force 1 and 1,000 to 1,500 total rescuers in the state.
Many of those rescuers have spent more time in the last month deployed than with their families.
"We have had a break in between each storm, so it hasn't taken that much of a toll," Parker said. "That is what we do on a daily basis at home. We are used to getting up, going to work and getting the job done."
Texas Task Force 1 is made up of rescue workers who take time off from their local jobs to respond to statewide emergencies. Members of the team were in Houston, Victoria and Lafayette, La., on Friday night.
When the storm arrives, they will wait indoors until wind speeds drop below 50 mph. Parker would not discuss what they anticipated once the storm passed, but they were prepared to do swift-water rescue missions.
