Los Angeles Fire Department

LAFD Members Leave Hurricane Harvey Effort, Head to Alabama for Hurricane Irma

The team was rerouted from Texas to Alabama on Wednesday

Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department preparing to return from Texas after assisting with Hurricane Harvey rescue efforts were redeployed to Alabama to prepare for Hurricane Irma Wednesday.

More than 70 members of LAFD who were deployed as part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency Urban Search & Rescue Task Force were deployed to Texas on Aug. 27 in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

Known as FEMA's California Task Force 1, the team rescued people, pets and livestock in the storm-battered region.

Several crews from the Los Angeles County Fire Department returned from Texas on Wednesday, but members of the Los Angeles City Fire Department are preparing to aid victims of Hurricane Irma.

"A lot of members today had to tell their loved ones we're changing course, we're heading back," LACFD Chief Carlos Cavillo said. "It was harder on the home front than for members on the team."

The team was demobilized on Tuesday and began making plans to return to Los Angeles, but was rerouted to Montgomery, Alabama, on Wednesday, to stage in preparation for a response to damage caused by Hurricane Irma, the department said.

CA-TF1 is expected to arrive in Alabama around midnight on Sept. 7.

"The team is rested, in good spirits and prepared to continue helping those in need," a department news release stated.

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