KOA Headlines
10 02 24 Colorado Task Force 1's Bob Olme on helping in Asheville, North Carolina
"Alright, we're all set for the party. I've trimmed the tree, hung the mistletoe, and paired all those weird-shaped knives and forks with the appropriate cheeses. And I plugged in the Bartetian." "Bartetian?" "It's a home cocktail maker that makes over 60 premium cocktails, plus a whole lot of seasonal favorites too. I just got it for 50 off. So, how 'bout a clasma-palatin? Or a mistletoe margarita?" "I'm thirsty." "Watch." "I just pop in a capsule, choose my strength, and…" "Wow. It's beginning to feel more seasonal in here already." "If your holiday party doesn't have a bartender, then you become the bartender. Unless you've got a Bartetian, because Bartetian craps every cocktail perfectly, in as little as 30 seconds. And I just got it for $50 off." "Tis the season to be... jolly-er." Add some holiday flavor to every celebration, with a sleek, sophisticated home cocktail maker Bartetian. Pick up your phone and shake it to get $50 off any cocktail maker. "Yes, you heard me. Shake your phone and get $50 off. Don't delay." I don't know if you know this, but when you don't have time to read the Washington Post, you can listen to it. Almost every article has a listening option. And right now, you can become a Washington Post subscriber for just 50 cents a week. It's an incredible deal. Stay on top of what's happening by signing up at washingtonpost.com/pod. That's washingtonpost.com/p-o-d. It's beginning to sound a lot like the holidays. The Roku Channel, your home for free and premium TV, is giving you access to holiday music and genre-based stations from iHeart all for free. Find the soundtrack of the season with channels like iHeartChristmas and North Pole Radio, The Roku Channel is available on all Roku devices, web, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, Samsung TVs, and the Roku mobile app on iOS and Android devices. So stream what you love, and turn up the cheer with iHeart Radio on the Roku Channel. Happy streaming! It is Colorado's Morning News, the Wednesday edition Marty Lenz, Gina Gondek. Good morning, a volunteer group of Colorado-based emergency personnel are now on the ground in Tennessee, where they are aiding and recovery efforts for that horrific flooding from over the weekend. Over 160 people have died across the multi-state flood zone, but due to efforts like those of these emergency volunteers, more than 500 people have been rescued so far. Joining us now on the KOA Common Spirit Health Hotline to talk more about it is the program manager for Colorado Task Force One. It's Bob Olmey. Bob, thank you so much for your time this morning. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Tell us a little bit more about what this crew's search and recovery efforts have been. Where has their progress gone from where they've been on the ground in Tennessee to where they've been throughout this entire recovery process? Okay, thank you. So we were activated last Wednesday and drove straight through to Chattanooga and were forced to spend the night there as the storm was moving through and couldn't actually be on the roadway safely. So the next day, we made it down into Florida and did some work around out just outside of Cedar Keys doing wide area search. So they're searching either debris piles because the water will pile up debris and you don't know if it looks like a house or if it was a house as well as structures there. They were able to clear the peninsula down in Florida and then obviously it became very apparent that lots of work needed to be done back in North Carolina. So then we were redirected to North Carolina and arrived, I believe, Sunday and have been working there ever since. And it's much different work in North Carolina. Very hilly, very steep hills. It collected the water, pushed it down into the valleys with great force, turned everything into mud. So searchers are very purposely going through that area because a car covered in mud may look like boulder. And so they're really taking their time to ensure that they're doing the best search work possible at the fastest pace they can move. Bob, I have extended family that lives in that Asheville area and some of the pictures, the ones that are able to get out are just unreal. I want to ask you, I know you all train for events like this or try to prepare for it, but training is one thing. Seeing it firsthand is another way. Are you kind of a gog and aghast of what you're seeing and what you're having to navigate and deal with? Fortunately, this group that's out there currently is a mix of some that have gone to other disasters similar and some new people. So for the new folks, certainly it's a surprise for sure. The devastation is incredible. You're seeing the same pictures I am. And then of course, talking with the task force leader, he's describing it that things are going, it's all just a ball of mud. And they're trying to work their way through to make sure, but absolutely. And we anticipate perhaps that once they get back, we'll have to do a little debriefing with them just to make sure that their mental health is okay moving forward. What do you think that timeline is for when they will get back? How long will they be responding to this area in the aftermath and the hardest devastated areas that we're seeing? So there's lots of work there. In fact, we split our team today and we're working in the old Ford area as well as Crooked Creek. We have lots of resources there now, three type or two type one task forces from across the United States and then two type threes including us. So lots of people down there. If the other storm that's currently in the Gulf does not develop, I would say five more days. If it develops, they may ask for an extension because the resources are in place. They would just need to move them down. And then we are talking about 10 to 15 more days. Bob, when you've since this isn't your first rodeo, if you will, you've seen this is the devastation, especially when you see it inland. I would imagine seeing it by the water, you may sit there and rationalize and saying, well, it's on the coast. You mentioned the cedar area that was devastating. But when you're more inland in the Tennessee's and in the North Carolina's, is it surprising to still to see the force of mother nature and what she can do in these areas that maybe aren't as well prepared or don't consider hurricanes being an issue for them? Well, I think this one certainly is unprecedented in many ways. The area that they're working at today, just getting into had estimates of 28 inches of rain fell in that particular area. If it was flat, that's one thing, because it had the water at a chance to collect and get some velocity. It is not just taking structures off the top, taking bridges, roads, some water, gas lines, all of those things as that water churn going through the valley. So, incredible devastation. It won't be months to recover for these poor folks. It'll be years to recover. Bob, in wrapping up with you in moments like this, listeners from far away from here, those far away from a disaster, always look at it and want to help, but almost feel helpless because they're not responding like your task forces on the ground. Is there anything that listeners can do or any recommendations you have that they can feel like they can help or assist it anyway? Well, certainly, there's still a need for water and food in a lot of the western North Carolina area. The Red Cross is making big strides in that regard. So, if they feel like they want to help, donate to one of those recognized ones that you trust, Red Cross, or there's lots of people out there now setting up donation sites because they're going to have to provide food and water for these folks for at least a couple weeks, if not longer. And so, that money really does help. It goes a long way, and it's pretty direct to the people that need to help. Program Manager for Colorado Task Force One, it's Bob Olmey. Thank you, Bob. Thank you for your service and what you're doing to help people. We do appreciate it and stay safe. Thank you very much, and thanks for having me again. All right, we're all set for the party. I've trimmed the tree, hung the mistletoe, and paired all those weird-shaped knives and forks with the appropriate cheeses, and I plugged in the partition. It's a home cocktail maker that makes over 60 premium cocktails, plus a whole lot of seasonal favorites too. I just got it for 50 off. So, how about a clausemopolitan or a mistletoe margarita? I'm thirsty. Watch. I just pop in a capsule, choose my strength, and… Wow, it's beginning to feel more seasonal in here already. If your holiday party doesn't have a bartender, then you become the bartender. Unless you've got a bartesian, because bartesian crafts every cocktail perfectly, in as little as 30 seconds. And I just got it for $50 off. 'Tis the season to be… jolly-er. Add some holiday flavor to every celebration, with a sleek, sophisticated home cocktail maker, Bartesian. Pick up your phone and shake it to get $50 off any cocktail maker. Yes, you heard me. Shake your phone and get $50 off. Don't delay. I don't know if you know this, but when you don't have time to read the Washington Post, you can listen to it. Almost every article has a listening option. And right now, you can become a Washington Post subscriber for just 50 cents a week. It's an incredible deal. Stay on top of what's happening by signing up at washingtonpost.com/pod. That's washingtonpost.com/p-o-d. It's beginning to sound a lot like the holidays. The Roku Channel, your home for free and premium TV, is giving you access to holiday music and genre-based stations from iHeart all for free. Find the soundtrack of the season with channels like iHeartChristmas and North Pole Radio. The Roku Channel is available on all Roku devices, web, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, Samsung TVs, and the Roku mobile app on iOS and Android devices. So stream what you love and turn up the cheer with iHeartRadio on the Roku Channel. Happy streaming!