San Angeloans Rescuing Survivors of Flood in Houston

SAN ANGELO, TX — San Angeloans are contributing to the rescue efforts in the wake of the flooding in Houston due to Hurricane Harvey.

Here are two instances, and we know there are more, so please send in your stories to [email protected].

Lt. Col. Chad Countess is a C-130 navigator with the Texas National Guard’s 136th Air Wing at Fort Worth Naval Air Station. He sent me an urgent email yesterday. “My clients are going to hate me, but I just got activated,” he said.

He is on a crew flying rescue flights out of Houston. Countess said the major airports are closed, but Galveston’s airport and Ellington Field near Clear Lake are open. Part of his tasks over the past day or two has been flying evacuation missions for the elderly and infirmed out of Galveston to safer hospitals in Dallas.

A firsthand report from Countess:

The picture was our first two tails [C-130s, or airplanes] into Galveston on 28 Aug to evacuate general population out of Galveston to KDAL [Dallas Love Field].  Did about 150 [survivors] that day then demand fell off.  Next day we were scheduled 1500 out of local Galveston shelters but only 6 showed up, no demand out of Galveston.

Airfields opening back up in Houston and offering airlift but currently no requirements [or no need].

Other USA ANG units sent aircraft to help in KNFW [NAS Fort Worth]. 

Unusual in that Texas has not asked for Federal airlift assistance, only State funded assets used.  We are not being paid under Title 32 or Title 10 as usual but State activation only.  First time that’s happened.

Seems as though Texas wants federal government to know we have it handled. 

Don't listen to everything on the news, they only show the worst.

Countess laments what every self-employed guardsman does, his business back home in San Angelo. His civilian job is his financial planning practice in the 2400 Shopping Center on College Hills. “I have some upset clients, I can't return their calls.  Need a business to go back to.  Might be a few weeks,” he said in an email.

Pecan Creek VFD to Houston

Three members of the Pecan Creek Volunteer Fire Department left San Angelo yesterday with their large truck to help with high water rescues. Fire Chief Dusty Thompson along with Assistant Chiefs Charles “Bubba” Barnett and Cody Brazeal will be volunteering in Houston starting sometime today.