Latest Weather Blog
Livingston firefighters, other Louisianans travel to Venice, Florida, to provide hurricane relief
Related Story
VENICE, Fla. — Livingston Parish firefighters and other Louisiana officials traveled to south Florida in the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton to provide relief to affected areas.
Members with the Livingston Parish Fire Chiefs Association, Cains Supermarkets, the Livingston Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and Southern Boyz Outdoors — a shop in Tangipahoa Parish — all chipped in to provide critical post-hurricane relief in Venice, Florida.
The groups provided 400 buckets with cleaning supplies like gloves, sponges, trash bags and bleach, as well as 2,000 hot meals — including a 30-gallon pot of jambalaya and a 15-gallon pot of pastalaya — and manpower to assist the community in need.
"The team is currently working alongside local firefighters, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, providing the necessary aid to help this community recover," officials said on Facebook on Wednesday.
Troop 172 Boy Scouts also provided aid, Livingston Parish official said.
"When the first storm, Helene, came through, we decided we needed to come help somebody," Brian Drury, Springfield Fire Chief, said. "Normally we get hit and affected by the storms also so we get a lot of help. So we decided to pay it back."
Drury said that when Helene initially hit, the plan was to go to Greenville, but as Milton made its way through the state, the team moved south to Venice to help.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has also been helping out in Florida. LaDOTD sent crews of eight to nine members to help with removing 84 pieces of debris and to assist in hauling equipment.
More than 50 people from LaDOTD will be in Florida for the next two weeks.
News
