( siren on truck.)
You can't see something of this magnitude with people suffering, death and destruction
and not take something away from it with you that you are gonna carry with you the rest
of your life.
This one I think got everyone's attention.
The amount of water, approximately 80% of New Orleans was under water.
And to get there right after the hurricane hit, it was overwhelming.
The situation in New Orleans I hope was an anomaly in that we had a breakdown of government,
a breakdown of social order, and it was utter chaos that our folks went into.
Lots of chaos, but when we were given a mission, we brought a order to that chaos.
We had a command staff, we had game wardens that were organized, knew how to work the
boats, knew how to fit into a team effort.
(boat trailer backing down interstate on-ramp)
We were launching boats right there off the interstate, off I-10, at the on-ramps.
And we would go down into the communities that were flooded and begin to go from house
to house, street to street.
Hello!
There was no communication then when we got there.
In fact when we got there, we had the best communication that was available there, amongst
ourselves on our own game warden channels.
The eeriness of the silence down there, there is no sound,
Hello!
Anybody want a ride?
There's nothing moving, there's no mechanical, only what you bring with you makes sound down
there really.
You might hear a voice out there, that's what you are listening for, somebody howling for
help.
Hello!
That was the blackest water I have ever seen in my life.
Here's a witches brew of chemicals and substances that was in this water and then you add in
all the dead people and dead animals, and of course the decomposition.
This was just horrible, horrible waters.
In fact the spray from the airboats would hit you in the face and it would sting your
face.
It wouldn't sting your arms but it would sting your face from whatever was in the water.
You can watch the video and you can see the pictures but you're not seeing it in 3D, your
not seeing the movement and one thing you are definitely not getting, your not getting
the smell.
The smell is something still not out of my nose yet, it's a terrible, terrible, terrible
smell, couldn't describe it, how bad the smell is.
It smelled like death.
That's what we are not going to forget, what it smells like down in there.
We got our assignment, which was to go to the downtown area of New Orleans where there's
three hospitals located.
There was Charity Hospital, Tulane Hospital and University Hospital.
So we launched out boats and launched everything that we could and was getting people out by
airboat, by flat-bottom boats, and bringing them to higher ground and loadin' them on
buses.
It makes you appreciate everything that you have.
We talked to people there, that one gentleman that had lived there 76 years in the same
house and he did not want to leave.
That was all that he had in the world and it was gone now.
And so he was holdin' on to every last bit, so it just makes you appreciate everything
you have and how quickly something can take it away.
We went into some of these areas and they were terrified to do the lift through the
helicopter.
One lady didn't want to go because she didn't know how much it'd cost her to get rescued.
As sad as it was you know it's going to be a learning experience for us, cause one of
these days something like this is going to hit a Texas town.
(sound of NOAA weather radio report)
Hurricane Rita made landfall near the Sabine River shortly after midnight this morning.
The hurricane is expected to move into northeast Texas later tonight.
We got guys out right now that are fixing to have a major delivery of MREs and water
to distribute to people everything is running real smooth and we're helping the people.
We are dealing with uh more security issues for the county and we didn't have to bring
boats, we are not dealing with water, uh we are dealing with the fact that there's no
electricity uh there's no fuel, there's no thing so a lot of people are getting antsy,
and when they do that then they're needed more manpower, more enforcement and things
like that.
It's just a slow process trying to get everything in, they're getting chain saws in.
We've got the county helping our radio man out on the road right now cutting wood, get
it off the road so we can get a tower set up down here.
(radio chatter)
What we did is we got a 25 to 30 mile coverage all the way around Jasper.
It was a lot of work the radio shop did an outstanding job, they're the ones who took
the mobile repeaters out set them up with generators and such.
We're running on about 2 hour sleep and so it gets to be long, but it's an important
part of the job, and so we take it real serious.
We're gonna try to do this as quick as we can, save 'em as much suffering as we can.
This is a nursing home.
There's a lot of elderly patients in there, nineteen bedridden patients.
Trying to make arrangements to get 'em taken out by bus to air condition, food and water.
It's hot.
I can't believe they're in there.
We came down here in the Southern part of Jasper county to really help with the law
enforcement effort, and, we found some folks in need, so we did what we needed to do.
You are the only officers of the state, that has done what they said they would do is the
game wardens and I'm not, you know, I'm not just saying
Well, God bless ya'll.
That was a job.
Done better than I expected.
Hopefully we got some older folks that needed to get to a medical facility on a bus there.
(bus driving away)
It’s a 22 foot storm surge it will go all the way into the city of Beaumont.
That’s how much power it’s got to go into the city of Beaumont.
Our game wardens had a can-do attitude.
We've got a job to do, let's go do it and get it done.
(wind and rain)
I'm most thankful that all of them came home in both Rita and Katrina.
This is the Superdome.
It's bizarre.
It's surreal.
Like something out of one of these science fiction movies about the apocalyptic future.
(dogs barking)
Hello, anybody home?
One thing I would like to say, this is extremely emotional situation to go and work something
like this.
I guarantee you before it's all said and done, I'm probably gonna break down and have a big
cry.
That's just the way it is.
This was real hard seeing people that, they're carrying everything that they have left in
this world, they're carrying with them.
Cause it's all gone, cause I saw their houses, how they was demolished, destroyed that they
don't have anything to go back to, they have nothing.
The wardens worked long and hard hours.
And I'll say this, there's not a game warden out there who isn't ready to answer the call.
Cause that's what law enforcement is all about.
In this profession, it's about dealing with people, and providing service to people.
I think on the officer level, I think it is something that they will remember good and
bad for the rest of their life.
They just need to remember that they were there and they made a difference.