Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives
Previous Post: Could school snow days one day be a thing of the past?
Next Post: Phantom savings?
Posted in:
* Press release…
Governor Rauner today directed the deployment of Illinois Task Force 1, an 80-member search and rescue team, to assist local responders as they search for people who may have been trapped after a tornado tore through Woodhaven Lakes campground in Lee County last evening. The village of Coal City in Grundy County was also hard hit by a tornado Monday evening.
Governor Rauner today also issued a state disaster proclamation for Lee and Grundy counties to make available a wide variety of state resources that can help affected communities respond and recover from the storms.
“Tornadoes and severe storms have once again caused devastation in northern Illinois communities,” Gov. Rauner said. “The state is supporting local responders in these hard-hit communities to ensure the safety of people affected by these terrible storms and help them begin the recovery process.”
Illinois Task Force 1 is the state’s urban search and rescue team with specialized training and equipment to support extremely difficult recovery efforts. In addition to 80 team members, the group includes trained search canines.
Governor Rauner activated the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Springfield Monday evening after a line of severe storms and tornadoes moved across northern Illinois. The SEOC was staffed throughout the night with representatives from several state agencies, responder mutual aid organizations, and the American Red Cross to ensure response assets and personnel could be quickly deployed to assist local governments and all impacted areas.
In addition, field personnel from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois State Police, and Illinois Department of Natural Resources are assisting affected communities.
For updates on the current situation, visit the Ready Illinois website at www.ready.illinois.gov.
How’s everybody doing out there today?
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 9:14 am
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
Previous Post: Could school snow days one day be a thing of the past?
Next Post: Phantom savings?
WordPress Mobile Edition available at alexking.org.
powered by WordPress.
One thing about our “troubled” state that “good government” types need to realize is that Illinois is a leader nationwide on coordinated response to all types of disasters. In 2005, it was Illinois that was able to provide assistance to the Gulf Coast particularly Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Our fire service MABAS (Mutual Aid Box Alarm System) ILEAS for the police and the Incident Management Teams and Emergency Management Agencies are top notch. There was and is a coordinated response and that part of the story needs to be a reminder to all of our angry friends and fellow citizens who never miss a chance to vilify public entities.
Comment by IAFF Mike Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 9:52 am
Someone very close to me sold their place at Woodhaven on Friday so they were not there when the storm hit.
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 9:59 am
Lots of family and freinds in Coal City. Had a few have their homes damaged. No reports of major injuries. A few lost pets.
Comment by Person 8 Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 10:06 am
Has it always been called “Task Force 1?” That’s kind of a cool name and I’m surprised I’ve never heard it before.
Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 10:10 am
That region has really had a tough go of it. Very happy they’re getting the extra needed assistance. Godspeed to all in the area.
Comment by A guy Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 10:12 am
===That’s kind of a cool name===
It’s a super cool name. And I’ve never heard of it, either.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 10:22 am
Sa-Weet name! That’s a great branded name for a group doing great work.
Good on all.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 10:27 am
I’m a Springfield transplant from Coal City. I have some friends who have lost their homes and many more whose homes have damage. The Fire Chief stated that this storm was worse than the tornado that struck the area 2 years ago. Volunteers are not being let into town yet, and I’m told that Coal City smelled like gas until early this morning. The Red Cross is set up at the High School and if this is the same as last time, they will be coordinating volunteer efforts from there.
Comment by Millennium Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 10:45 am
1) My heart goes out to those affected
2) Hopefully Task Force 1 can provide some much needed help
3) Task Force 1? Really? Cool name but was it really necessary?
4) Is Task Force 1 AFSCME and/or do they belong to some other public employee/public safety union?
Comment by wndycty Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 10:55 am
Think the task forces span multiple agencies and government departments. Here you can see a picture of some of their gear…
http://chicagoareafire.com/blog/tag/illinois-usar-team/
Have seen it rolling before, impressive stuff
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 11:05 am
Dixon Fire responded to the MABAS call at Woodhaven; there were people trapped and they’re still doing some follow-up searches. Power went down, which messed with their electronic check-in records; they were trying to pin down exactly who was in. Lot of trees down was blocking access of responders to parts of the park even after midnight, but I think that’s cleared up now.
Sterling Mall lost its roof, and there is a lot of flooding in the region. I saw some pictures of basements flooded all the way to the first floor. Several communities, include all of Amboy apparently, are out of power. That’s an issue with flooding, too, since pumps aren’t operating.
No fatalities so far, though, so that is a blessing. We’d much rather have infrastructure issues than casualties.
Comment by Liandro Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 11:12 am
Does Task Force I have names for the 80 first responders and can we order cool garb?
Comment by Anonin' Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 11:20 am
Lots of damage (tornado, flooding) in our area. Feel badly for the families affected.
Comment by Stones Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 11:27 am
Good work Governor, lot’s of good people need the help today.
Comment by JS Mill Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 11:34 am
If anyone is interested there is more detailed info on Task Force 1 starting on page 20 of the attached document:
http://www.iafc.org/files/1mtlaid/mabasbook_110713.pdf
Comment by MyTwoCents Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 11:40 am
The “Task Force 1″ name comes from the FEMA Urban Search & Rescue program that the Illinois team is accredited to. If there’s ever a second team in the state, it would be “Illinois Task Force 2″. Here the other teams: https://www.fema.gov/task-force-locations (Note that the map has not been updated since Illinois joined the program.)
Comment by Forgottonia Republic Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 12:01 pm
Probably should have Googled before I posted, rather than after. It looks like Illinois TF-1 has been around for a number of years, so maybe it’s not actually accredited to FEMA after all. But either way, that’s where the name format was drawn from.
Comment by Forgottonia Republic Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 12:07 pm
I feel bad for the people in Grundy & Lee counties. Some will never be able to recover their lost.
Comment by Mama Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 4:34 pm
Spent part of the day in Coal City giving my chainsaw a workout. It is a real serious mess on the south side of town. ComEd crews are having to replace a main service line, but they are working with admirable speed. County has all of its dump trucks hauling out debris. Roofs gone, cars flipped, firestation damaged, and so many trees down. Plan to go back tomorrow; they need lots of help cleaning up.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 5:07 pm
Is rauner and his wife donating to this effort as they did back in April?
Comment by Person 8 Tuesday, Jun 23, 15 @ 9:00 pm
Illinois Task Force 1 is also a member of. State Urban Search and Rescue Alliance which was formed after 9-11. It is one of 32 state teams trained to the level of the 28 FEMA teams. Illinois should be proud that MABAS initiated the development of this team, very proud to be part of it.
Comment by Chuck Thursday, Jun 25, 15 @ 12:20 pm