In the past few months the Team has responded to a Derecho (violent straight-line wind storm) that struck Fredericktown, MO, flash floods in Louisville, KY, floods in GA and we are presently in Southern California working with local organizations to clean up more than 50 homes that were destroyed by wild fires.There were fewer storms this year then last which is timely considering so many had been affected by the economy. I often think what it would be like to be out of a job with no insurance and then your home gets destroyed. It’s almost too much to think about. After responding to so many disasters the Team is always looking for things to be thankful for and this is one of them.
This past year has been difficult on the Team as well. Few donations came in to support our work. Some of my personal equipment left over from Disaster Recovery Solutions had to be liquidated in order to put fuel in the tanks of the essential gear that had to respond but at the last hour we received help from a few companies that decided they wanted to give back themselves.
I want to give a special thanks to The Pete Store for the donation of three tractor trailers and a building in Knoxville to call home, CAT for their support through heavy equipment, Ledwell for a trailer, Godwin for a pump, Terex for a light tower and Heiden for a grapple. Though 2009 has had its challenges, I’m thankful we were able to bring in the equipment needed to continue our work for the 2010 storm season.
As the end of the year draws to a close the weather often begins to calm. We will not see many hurricanes or tornados striking the states the rest of this year, but we’ll have to keep out eyes out for floods and ice storms.
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