tagged!

Bump.

My truck is loaded up and I'll be leaving tomorrow morning after church (around 11:00). If anyone wants my cell phone number, feel free to IM me, leave yours, and I'll try and stay in touch to let you know what I find. In any of you have a definite crew doing some work, I'd appreciate it if you'd please contact me and let me know. I'm in the DFW area.

Good luck to all of us!

Get at least 1 person you can call with an update so they can post it.

Quoted: Get at least 1 person you can call with an update so they can post it.

Done.

Anybody else heading down on their own?

btt - I'm still looking for an opportunity to get down there.

Thinking of heading down next week. Trying to coordinate a job and a "posse" ahead of time.

Quoted: Quoted: OK,  guys,   I'll let you in on the secret: I have no hard info to go on.  Just general guidance from a friend of mine who worked for FEMA after the hurricanes in FL last year. He says, bring your bare essentials and a few comfort items,  bring skills and tools, bring a working attitude and several pairs of gloves, and you will be making plenty of money very soon. He also says,  bring a reliable gun that you're good with. CJ Hate to tell you but if you show up with this form of mindset you will be up shits creek, also a gun will get you a free trip to the cross bar hotel.

Please tell me exactly why this is a bad idea.  And also how and why they would throw you in jail for a gun if you were otherwise legal?

I would really like to know, not being sarcastic at all.

Tag

Murphey's law hard at work.
I was really looking forward to the opportunity to assist and was going to be going down from wv tues. or weds but a situation happened, my parents were in a vehicle wreck Sunday afternoon, and my mom had serious but not life threatening injuries. They had to fly her from the scene in a helicopter to the bristol va. hostpital 2 hours away.  Me and my sister were really concerned she wouldn't make it for an hour or so but she is going to recover, badly fractured femor and upper arm, injured hips and shoulder, fractured ribs, abrasions, ect., our dad walked away unscathed, so priorites have changed and I won't be able to go for any forseeable time.

I'm manning the fort back here for the day, going to be going back and forth all week.
It's unfortunate I won't be able to go, I could have really used the $ and hoped to assist, but I'm very glad our mom's still here.

Quoted: Who can hook me up with such work?  I can leave for the area as early as today.

likewise.anybody know anyone providing security type work down there?aside from the military and LE.lol.just got out,got about 2500 of the boys from my old unit just deployed down there,love to see em again. email me if anyone has any leads,please.

Anybody with info please post, i cant find much.

I work for the same power company that serves The New Orleans area .  We have already been told
that we will be working down there to help rebuild the system .  Not for a couple of weeks though . Waiting on material .  The overtime will be plentifull and I already told the wife that I WILL buy a new gun or two .

If you are in AZ, I found this info on the website of our local conservative talk radio station.

ARIZONANS Called to Join the Volunteer Effort!  As a result of this major disaster affecting our fellow Americans, at this time all Arizonans are asked to assist in supporting the disaster relief professionals who are currently responding to public health emergency resulting from Hurricane Katrina.  The need is great and now is the time to GET TRAINED, GET EDUCATED, GET PREPARED!  Trained volunteers are being deployed now but more volunteers are needed to replace these as well as backfill deployed personnel.  This response effort will go on for months.  Several volunteer and health agencies statewide are working together to recruit interested volunteers.  Specifically , Healthcare professionals interested in volunteering in the Katrina response are asked to please  call the Maricopa Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) 602-263-9736, in Yavapai County call 928-442-5487 and in Pima county call 520-881-3300.  Hospitals have also been asked to create teams from their personnel to possibly staff field hospitals - if interested contact your hospital directly to learn more information.  Additionally, citizens can contact the Citizen Corps Councils and the Volunteer Centers in their cities and towns, the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, AZ Humane Society and faith based organizations for volunteer training.  This disaster effort will take months and as such we will need a cadre of trained volunteers to help with EVERY stage of this effort.  For more information call:  Julie Frasco 602-525-0158, Communications for the Maricopa Medical Reserve Corps  www.maricopacitizencorps.org

 


Check the websites of your local talk radio stations and you might find similar info.

Quoted: I work for the same power company that serves The New Orleans area .  We have already been told that we will be working down there to help rebuild the system .  Not for a couple of weeks though . Waiting on material .  The overtime will be plentifull and I already told the wife that I WILL buy a new gun or two .

I tried calling Entergy, the power company down there.  At first I wondered why I kept getting a fast busy signal, but then I looked up their address and noticed that they're headquartered in downtown New Orleans.  

maybe i should also ask people that are in LA right now if they have info.

+a crew made up of members of this site would be safe just about anywhere ;)

I spoke with "geegee" on the phone earlier, we traded #s before he went down there on Sunday and when I expected to go.
In short, basically it seems it's to early to "just show up" somewhere down there and expect work unless you already have something lined up or are with an organization because there doesn't seem to be a big concern for clean up yet at this point..
He said gas was around $ 2.70 around baton rouge or jackson ms areas, but the closer you got towards new orleans you could expect limits.
He said a town he was at, "manderville" had "a lot" downed trees and destruction, so you could expect a lot of chainsaw clearing type of work eventually, but there just didn't seem to be anyone around to inqure with and they didn't seem to be ready to focus on clean up and clearing, like most every other place.
There were also few hotel rooms available and most hotels have signs that say no vanacany or booked through oct., ect.
He said he saw lots of comany trucks for different companies from all over the country,
He said if he didn't see something within a day or 2 he'd go back to tx to wait till it starts, he'll post in more detail.
But it seems it's to early for the clearing and people are better of lining things up before they go into the mess or having more solid contacts because it's so unorganized at this time.

Seems it would be wise to form crews through online contacts maybe here, ect. and have a plan.
The work will be there, seems it's just a matter or when they focus on that.

Then let's do that. I can create a forum on my website for organizing both what I want to do and to let other people meet up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

State Infrastructure Status Update

Damage assessments continue. Infrastructure damage is becoming clearer.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Acting Administrator and staff are participating in Army Corps of Engineers ESF-3 conference calls to help shape assessment plans and long term recovery efforts.

FHWA is assisting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with route planning and road restriction waiver state point of contact information.

FHWA Evacuation Liaison Team (ELT) continues to support response and recovery efforts by facilitating communications between the states and providing highway situational awareness.

FHWA Division Office personnel are assisting state counterparts with damage assessments. FHWA offices throughout the country are poised to provide additional support.

FHWA is working with FTA to expedite the movement of generators to the pipeline companies in Alabama.

Louisiana

Situation in New Orleans: I-10 from the west and I-55 from the north are open only to emergency response traffic. It is possible to drive on I-10 toward the city far as the I-10/I-610 split. However, there is generally no way to get on or off I-10 due to the high water.

The Lake Ponchartrain causeway is being used by light emergency response vehicles. The bridge is damaged. Both spans are being used to create one free lane in each direction. Divers are in process of inspecting the bridge.
The causeway is load-bearing rated at HS-20 (the interstate load-bearing weight), indicating it can be used for emergency response if no damage is found.

The New Orleans airport is accessible via I-10 and Airport Boulevard. It is not accessible via US-61.

The construction company that repaired the Escambia Bay Bridge in Florida is preparing to survey the I-10 “Twin Span” bridge that connects eastern Orleans Parish with Slidell in case they are called upon to bid on such a project.

The US-11 Bridge washed out at the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain in Slidell. The wash-out is being filled in and when completed will provide limited access to New Orleans from the east. This work will take longer than first expected. No opening estimate has been provided.

I-55 is open from the Mississippi line to I-10 and I-12.

I-59 is open from the Louisiana line to Slidell and the I-10/I-12 intersection.

I-12 is open from Baton Rouge to the I-10 intersection in Slidell.


Mississippi

The FHWA Mississippi Division Administrator toured the Gulf Coast Wednesday, August 31.

He confirmed that the Bay St. Louis-Gulfport and Biloxi-Oceans Springs bridges on US-90 are gone. The coast is scoured from the gulf to 1000 to 1500 feet beyond the shoreline.

He also clarified the status of I-10. Damage to the eastbound span of the Pascagoula Bridge that was caused by a barge breaking loose from its mooring is what precludes the opening of all four lanes of I-10. There is a 300-foot span that must be taken out of that bridge and replaced. Mississippi officials are working to allow work to begin on that span next week. It is estimated that it will take three weeks to complete that repair. Once repairs are complete, the I-10 can be opened from the Alabama to Louisiana state lines provided there is no damage to other bridges. Divers are in process of inspecting those bridges. Crossovers are being constructed at each end of the bridge. That will allow all lanes to be used in each direction until reaching the bridge where the lanes will neck down to one lane each way. This will remain in place until the bridge is repaired.

US-49: 2 lanes open, Jackson to Hattiesburg. This section is also open to the public. Hattiesburg to Gulfport is one lane for emergency response vehicles only.

I-55 is open to the public state line to state line.

US-98 is open from Hattiesburg to the state line for emergency response vehicles only.

US-45 and US-83 are questionable.

US-84 is open for emergency response between US-45 and I-59.

I-59 is open to the state line for emergency response vehicles.

US-61 is open line to line.

I-20 is open to the public, line to line.

I-110 in Biloxi has been opened from I-10 to US-90 for emergency response vehicles only.

US-84 is open from state line to I-55.


Alabama

I-10 eastbound and westbound is limited to one lane in each direction at the Wallace Tunnel in Mobile due to pump failure.

I-65 is open state line to state line.

Inspection of US-98 Cochrane Bridge was completed. Though there was damage requiring some repairs and part replacement, the bridge was opened in one direction each way at 7:30 p.m. August 30. Overweight vehicles are prohibited from crossing the bridge.

The US-90/98 Causeway connecting Mobile and Baldwin counties is closed due to water over the road.

Back in Texas and time to post my after action report (limited as it may be). First of all, thanks to barkley-addict for posting much of what I saw after our telephone call-greatly appreciated, Amigo.  I couldn't post earlier, as there were no available internet connections, and last night when I got online I couldn't log into ARFCOM. I can't explain why, as I had no trouble with other forums.

*Not particularly important, but here are some of the convoys I saw enroute: US Army (no surprise there), about 35 or so cars of GA State Troopers, approximately 20 white pickups and trailers from the State of Colorado SPCA/Humane Society, many Border Patrol SUV's, utility and construction crews from all over the country.

*I'm of the same opinion as stated by b-a in my phone call, i.e. I went down there too early. I picked up a guy at a gas station just outside of Shreveport (while I was refueling), who was headed to Hammond (near Baton Rouge), and I asked him about the work opportunities for someone like myself. I told him I would be essentially seeking work alone. He mentioned that he thought there would be plenty of work in Mandeville, and after he said that I was inclined to agree with him. I've been there on several occasions and know it to be dense with trees and is also a very affluent area. Many trees fallen on homes of aflluent residents=money for a freelance Texas Chainsaw Maverick, yes? No. Here's what happened.

We went to Mandeville and there were certainly a heckuva lot of fallen trees alright, with many in the yards and on the homes of the well to do residents. Unfortunately, very few of the town's residents had returned. With no one there to authorize the work and then pay for the removal, we were just wasting time. We went to a number of the town's inhabitants, and some said the mayor informed them that FEMA would be along to remove the trees. What he meant of course, was that a contractor hired by FEMA would be along to do the work, so of course they had little inclination in hiring us for the job.

While I was there, the one noticeable sight was the abundance of not only fallen trees, but fallen power lines as well. Obviously with no power in their town (or perhaps only in some areas), you can understand why some would not be rushing back to their homes. In one 75 yard stretch of road, I saw three nearly identical power company trucks working on the fallen lines. Upon closer inspection, I saw that these three trucks and their crews included one from South Dakota, one from Texas, and another from Wisconsin. Man, that's teamwork!

*A lesson learned on how the tree removal and insurance reinbursement arrangement works. While the guy I picked up had a good idea or two, he was also mistaken about how much we could get paid. We were eventually set straight when I asked an insurance adjuster from Nationwide, who pulled into a gas station where I was refueling. Here's the system: If a guy has a yard with twenty trees in it and fifteen of them fall in the yard, with only one falling across his house, the insurance company will only pay for the damage done on a structure by the fallen tree. In my example, you may be able to charge around $1000-1,500 for the removal of the tree that fell on the house, because the home owner knows that the insurance company will reimburse him for the damages. The remaining fifteen he'll have to pay for out of his own pocket, so depending on his available cash and his motivation to have you clean up the yard, you could probably not expect much more than say, $100 for a like sized tree, or approximately the same pay for the removal of fifteen trees as you earned for the single tree that fell on his house. That's some ball breaking work for low pay.

*There are an enormous number of out of state contractors flooding the area, so I would think the best bet is to hook up with one as soon as you can. This work is not going to go away for the forseeable future, so if you haven't already, I wouldn't sweat it, but I would start the networking process. This morning I was eating breakfast in Jackson MS, and had a discussion with a guy who worked for a company from Houston that deals exclusively with railroad construction issues. He was also scrambling to put some things together, and was furiously working his cell phone.

*Lodging. Near impossible if you're headed to the Southern LA area (Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Hammond, etc.). Many of the motels and hotels have posted signs saying "No Vacancy," and I even saw a couple that said "No Vacancies till end of October." I spent my first night sleeping in my pickup, and last night was lucky enough to get a room in Jackson, MS. Actually, it was pretty easy (or my timing was perfect).

*Cell phone usage is spotty in areas, especially Baton Rouge and Mandeville, or essentially the closer you got to New Orleans.

I'm not discouraged from going back, but will be better connected for the next trip if I return. As before, IM me if you want my cell phone number and have questions. You're probably better served getting your info from many of the specific websites, but I'll be glad to speak with you if you want to. As I've found in my previous periods of unemployment, you have to keep the network alive if you want to speed up the re-employment process. I'm all about networking, so will be glad to help where I can.

Great post, geegee.  Your trip down provides valuable intel for the rest of us.

Does anybody have an websites at hand for contractors who are hiring?

Quoted: Great post, geegee.  Your trip down provides valuable intel for the rest of us. Does anybody have an websites at hand for contractors who are hiring?

Thanks-I'm hopeful to one day be part of the ARFCOM Force Recon.

Also, your question reminded me of a comment made by one of the guys I talked to at breakfast yesterday. He gave me a website, but misspelled the name. After playing with the spelling, I found what I was looking for: AshBritt Environmental. I'll bet they're going to be busy for quite some time to come.

Quoted: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State Infrastructure Status Update Damage assessments continue. Infrastructure damage is becoming clearer. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Acting Administrator and staff are participating in Army Corps of Engineers ESF-3 conference calls to help shape assessment plans and long term recovery efforts. FHWA is assisting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with route planning and road restriction waiver state point of contact information. FHWA Evacuation Liaison Team (ELT) continues to support response and recovery efforts by facilitating communications between the states and providing highway situational awareness. FHWA Division Office personnel are assisting state counterparts with damage assessments. FHWA offices throughout the country are poised to provide additional support. FHWA is working with FTA to expedite the movement of generators to the pipeline companies in Alabama. Louisiana Situation in New Orleans: I-10 from the west and I-55 from the north are open only to emergency response traffic. It is possible to drive on I-10 toward the city far as the I-10/I-610 split. However, there is generally no way to get on or off I-10 due to the high water. The Lake Ponchartrain causeway is being used by light emergency response vehicles. The bridge is damaged. Both spans are being used to create one free lane in each direction. Divers are in process of inspecting the bridge. The causeway is load-bearing rated at HS-20 (the interstate load-bearing weight), indicating it can be used for emergency response if no damage is found. The New Orleans airport is accessible via I-10 and Airport Boulevard. It is not accessible via US-61. The construction company that repaired the Escambia Bay Bridge in Florida is preparing to survey the I-10 “Twin Span” bridge that connects eastern Orleans Parish with Slidell in case they are called upon to bid on such a project. The US-11 Bridge washed out at the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain in Slidell. The wash-out is being filled in and when completed will provide limited access to New Orleans from the east. This work will take longer than first expected. No opening estimate has been provided. I-55 is open from the Mississippi line to I-10 and I-12. I-59 is open from the Louisiana line to Slidell and the I-10/I-12 intersection. I-12 is open from Baton Rouge to the I-10 intersection in Slidell. Mississippi The FHWA Mississippi Division Administrator toured the Gulf Coast Wednesday, August 31. He confirmed that the Bay St. Louis-Gulfport and Biloxi-Oceans Springs bridges on US-90 are gone. The coast is scoured from the gulf to 1000 to 1500 feet beyond the shoreline. He also clarified the status of I-10. Damage to the eastbound span of the Pascagoula Bridge that was caused by a barge breaking loose from its mooring is what precludes the opening of all four lanes of I-10. There is a 300-foot span that must be taken out of that bridge and replaced. Mississippi officials are working to allow work to begin on that span next week. It is estimated that it will take three weeks to complete that repair. Once repairs are complete, the I-10 can be opened from the Alabama to Louisiana state lines provided there is no damage to other bridges. Divers are in process of inspecting those bridges. Crossovers are being constructed at each end of the bridge. That will allow all lanes to be used in each direction until reaching the bridge where the lanes will neck down to one lane each way. This will remain in place until the bridge is repaired. US-49: 2 lanes open, Jackson to Hattiesburg. This section is also open to the public. Hattiesburg to Gulfport is one lane for emergency response vehicles only. I-55 is open to the public state line to state line. US-98 is open from Hattiesburg to the state line for emergency response vehicles only. US-45 and US-83 are questionable. US-84 is open for emergency response between US-45 and I-59. I-59 is open to the state line for emergency response vehicles. US-61 is open line to line. I-20 is open to the public, line to line. I-110 in Biloxi has been opened from I-10 to US-90 for emergency response vehicles only. US-84 is open from state line to I-55. Alabama I-10 eastbound and westbound is limited to one lane in each direction at the Wallace Tunnel in Mobile due to pump failure. I-65 is open state line to state line. Inspection of US-98 Cochrane Bridge was completed. Though there was damage requiring some repairs and part replacement, the bridge was opened in one direction each way at 7:30 p.m. August 30. Overweight vehicles are prohibited from crossing the bridge. The US-90/98 Causeway connecting Mobile and Baldwin counties is closed due to water over the road.

I am one of those poised to provide additional support. I am waiting on word to report south.

Essayons