FORT CHAFFEE : Last evacuees expected to go today
Posted on Sunday, September 7, 2008
FORT CHAFFEE — The last Hurricane Gustav evacuees are expected to fly out of Fort Smith this afternoon as they return to New Orleans.
Unless, of course, they are bused home.
Arkansas National Guard spokesman Capt. Chris Heathscott said four planes will be available today to take the remaining 300 people home but, if not, six buses are ready to go.
Most of the evacuees were put on buses Friday night and planes Saturday, marking the beginning of the end to what Heathscott characterized as a successful mission.
Some of the displaced residents agreed with that sentiment. Many offered thanks to the guardsmen who loaded belongings into the bellies of the buses that transported evacuees to waiting planes.
The post looked less like a community and more like a large outdoor bus station Saturday. The wait didn’t seem to affect the children, who kept one another occupied.
It became clear that many adult evacuees were frustrated as they went through the security check, before being shuttled to planes. A team for the Transportation Security Administration was on post to search luggage and people before they were taken to the planes.
The security checks were the same any passenger would face and even caused one New Orleans resident to be abandoned by his family. A Betta fish couldn’t be taken on a plane because it needed more water than the 3 ounces allowed.
Faced with the prospect of a 10-hour bus ride, the owner left the fish which is now part of the family of Tonya Roberts, director of the Sebastian County Department of Emergency Management.
Along with a new family, the fish got a new name — Gustav.
Early uncertainty about the availability of planes was an example of what was adding stress to the already stressful situation, said Vorentrelle Green, who was waiting with about 20 members of her family.
“It was nice that they took us in, but everybody is ready to go home,” Green said.
Green said people were getting frustrated because they didn’t know what was going on. They were told they’d be flying out Friday, but no one flew until Saturday.
It remains unclear whether there will be enough planes to accommodate the remaining evacuees or if the group will end up on the road again. Green said she was hoping to not repeat the long bus ride, which left her with a cramped neck and sore back.
Single men and women and pet owners were put on buses Friday night starting at 8 p.m.
Living on Fort Chaffee for the week was stressful for many, but there was one stark improvement over the last time the post housed people displaced by a hurricane.
This time, more people spent their time waiting with their families, unlike in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Having his family made all the difference for Carl Price, who was waiting with his fiancee, Fontella McCormick.
Price was stranded on his rooftop in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans for five days in the aftermath of Katrina before eventually being evacuated to Texas.
“I had no family and didn’t know nobody down there,” Price said Saturday, sitting next to McCormick at the front of the barracks.
Despite spending what he said was nearly 24 hours on a bus to Arkansas, Price said he wouldn’t change anything this time around.
“No complaints, they had to do what they had to do,” he said.
The most pressing question on people’s minds seemed to be whether Hurricane Ike will mean everyone will have to pack up and leave again. For some, a third time would be too much.
Carol Burrell said she’s had enough running from hurricanes.
Burrell said it took three years to get back to New Orleans after Katrina. Two weeks after being home again, she was getting her children on a bus to get away from Hurricane Gustav.
The next time a hurricane comes to town, Burrell said, she’ll be staying to greet it.
“I’m going to stay and swim,” Burrell said.
In between buses, evacuees kept themselves occupied. Some smoked cigarettes, and some danced while children played catch with members of the National Guard unit who had enough energy to toss a football, even after getting up at 4 a.m. so they could be on time to start the processing.
By 5 a. m., most were ready for the departure of the first flight at 9: 20 a. m., which proved challenging because 87 passengers were taken to the airport in ambulances, Roberts said.
Those 87 passengers were rounded up and taken to the airport in less than three hours, Roberts said. She said it took a combination of area ambulances, including at least one from Washington County.
The post wasn’t meant to receive anyone with medical problems, but that wasn’t the case, Roberts said. Arrangements had to be made to get some to dialysis, both in Fort Smith and Poteau, Okla., she said.
The post’s medical unit was transformed into a makeshift hospital with help from volunteers in the medical field, Roberts said. On their peak day, those volunteers, along with military medics, saw more than 350 people, she said, so area weren’t overwhelmed. Roberts said that some of the medical supplies will be kept on post in the event that Ike forces another evacuation. “There’s no use in taking all your toys home if you’re just going to have to bring them right back,” Roberts said.
To contact this reporter: awallworth@arkansasonline. com
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
