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Workers keep cities running during, after hurricane
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| A fallen sign lies on top of a car at a Jacinto City business, a sign of the destruction left behind by Hurricane Ike. |
By MATT HOLLIS
Jacinto City Mayor Mike Jackson showed up at City Hall on Market Street Sunday morning with bloodshot eyes, a baseball cap, a T-shirt and pants, and open-toed shoes.
Jackson wasn’t dressed that way because of a lack of hygiene – he had spent the previous two days without sleep making sure Jacinto City was still functioning during and after the strike from Hurricane Ike.
“This city has been through hell,” Jackson said. “Starting Friday night, (Fire Chief) Lon Squyres, (City Manager) Jack Maner and myself were in city vehicles with our lights on in the storm assisting citizens until the winds just became too much. We were also helping to keep looters of the streets.”
Squyres said it was imperative to keep a city presence on the streets of Jacinto City, even in precarious times such as a hurricane.
“You have to have visibility,” he said. “The citizens have to see you and the bad guys have to see you.”
Jackson said over and over how proud he was of the city, its citizens and workers for weathering the storm so well.
“Show me another community with 12,000 people that tried to look after one another like we have,” he said. “We hit the streets as soon as the winds died down. We had full crews out there clearing trees from the streets, using chainsaws and dump trucks to help out.”
Squyres said at one point, a house in Galena Park had caught fire in the storm. With winds measuring 46 mph, Squyres’ crew put out the blaze.
“We saved a house from being destroyed during the hurricane,” he said.
Also in Galena Park, many trees were reported down on the streets as well as flooding.
“As soon as we were able to get out, we started clearing the trees,’ said Sgt. John Rader of the Galena Park Police Department. “We were on patrol and we had no reports of looting. As of Sunday, about 90 percent of the power is back on in Galena Park.”
A shortage of fuel is another concern for the area. Some stations report having fuel, but no power to pump it.
“It depends on the station,” Rader said. “As long as they have power, they should be able to pump it. It’s also a matter of the fuel being delivered.”
One water rescue was reported in Galena Park, Rader said.
“An elderly man drove off into eight feet of water on Federal Road,” Rader said. “He was rescued and is doing OK now.”
Jacinto City officials said they are helping the Jacinto City Healthcare Center get a generator from the state.
“Our biggest concern right now is the medically frail,” Squyres said. “That includes the nursing home. They are on back-up power and have no air conditioning. The generator is being installed Sunday so they are going to receive assistance.”
In the storm’s aftermath, many are without power and the use of generators is a common sight. However, Squyres expressed concerns about people using generators safely.
“They should be cognitive of the fact that these generators can produce deadly carbon monoxide,” he said. “Do not use them in a garage or inside the house. They have to be used on the exterior of a home. Also, do not plug them into a home’s electrical or it will back feed into other houses and might kill a neighbor.”
Squyres also stressed that people should use common sense in dealing with Ike’s aftermath.
“Obey curfews and when outside, stay away from power lines,” he said. “Assume they are charged. They could go live at any time.”
Squyres also said if a power line is detached from a home, that person should contact a licensed electrician to reconnect it and do not attempt to do it themselves.
“They might not see us, but there is an army of workers out there putting their lives on hold so they can take care of their responsibility to their citizens,” he said. “We are doing everything we can.”
Squyres also said the state is making strides to have a distribution system in place for restoring power and providing fuel.
Jackson wasn’t dressed that way because of a lack of hygiene – he had spent the previous two days without sleep making sure Jacinto City was still functioning during and after the strike from Hurricane Ike.
“This city has been through hell,” Jackson said. “Starting Friday night, (Fire Chief) Lon Squyres, (City Manager) Jack Maner and myself were in city vehicles with our lights on in the storm assisting citizens until the winds just became too much. We were also helping to keep looters of the streets.”
Squyres said it was imperative to keep a city presence on the streets of Jacinto City, even in precarious times such as a hurricane.
“You have to have visibility,” he said. “The citizens have to see you and the bad guys have to see you.”
Jackson said over and over how proud he was of the city, its citizens and workers for weathering the storm so well.
“Show me another community with 12,000 people that tried to look after one another like we have,” he said. “We hit the streets as soon as the winds died down. We had full crews out there clearing trees from the streets, using chainsaws and dump trucks to help out.”
Squyres said at one point, a house in Galena Park had caught fire in the storm. With winds measuring 46 mph, Squyres’ crew put out the blaze.
“We saved a house from being destroyed during the hurricane,” he said.
Also in Galena Park, many trees were reported down on the streets as well as flooding.
“As soon as we were able to get out, we started clearing the trees,’ said Sgt. John Rader of the Galena Park Police Department. “We were on patrol and we had no reports of looting. As of Sunday, about 90 percent of the power is back on in Galena Park.”
A shortage of fuel is another concern for the area. Some stations report having fuel, but no power to pump it.
“It depends on the station,” Rader said. “As long as they have power, they should be able to pump it. It’s also a matter of the fuel being delivered.”
One water rescue was reported in Galena Park, Rader said.
“An elderly man drove off into eight feet of water on Federal Road,” Rader said. “He was rescued and is doing OK now.”
Jacinto City officials said they are helping the Jacinto City Healthcare Center get a generator from the state.
“Our biggest concern right now is the medically frail,” Squyres said. “That includes the nursing home. They are on back-up power and have no air conditioning. The generator is being installed Sunday so they are going to receive assistance.”
In the storm’s aftermath, many are without power and the use of generators is a common sight. However, Squyres expressed concerns about people using generators safely.
“They should be cognitive of the fact that these generators can produce deadly carbon monoxide,” he said. “Do not use them in a garage or inside the house. They have to be used on the exterior of a home. Also, do not plug them into a home’s electrical or it will back feed into other houses and might kill a neighbor.”
Squyres also stressed that people should use common sense in dealing with Ike’s aftermath.
“Obey curfews and when outside, stay away from power lines,” he said. “Assume they are charged. They could go live at any time.”
Squyres also said if a power line is detached from a home, that person should contact a licensed electrician to reconnect it and do not attempt to do it themselves.
“They might not see us, but there is an army of workers out there putting their lives on hold so they can take care of their responsibility to their citizens,” he said. “We are doing everything we can.”
Squyres also said the state is making strides to have a distribution system in place for restoring power and providing fuel.
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KSKUTIES2 wrote on Sep 19, 2008 11:20 AM:
Kathy & Evelyn Martin "