Pacific Northwest personnel deploy to assist Hurricane Harvey response, Aug. 29

Coast Guard personnel from Washington and Oregon units have deployed to assist in Hurricane Harvey relief efforts in Texas. Coast Guard personnel from Sector Columbia River, in Warrenton, Oregon, Air Station Port Angeles, Sector Puget Sound and the 13th District have deployed in response to the hurricane. One MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter has been deployed from Sector Columbia River to Air Station San Diego, California, to help in covering Coast Guard missions as San Diego aircraft have been deployed to provide hurricane response support in Texas. The Coast Guard has rescued more than 1,450 people as a result of the hurricane impact. The Coast Guard has 20 helicopters in the region conducting rescue operations along with crews on land and water working with state and local response personnel. “This is an all-hands response that involves personnel and support from across the country,” said Capt. Sean Cross, incident management chief, 13th District. “Our crews train using standardized procedures on identical assets regardless of their home unit. This facilitates response flexibility by allowing us to mix and match crews and assets from different locations in time of crisis such as this.” Additional personnel from the Pacific Northwest are on standby to provide support as response efforts require.