Colorado specialized K9 unit deployed to North Carolina to assist with hurricane recovery
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A specialized K9 unit from Colorado will now be joining the Colorado Task Force One team deployed in the southeast to help with hurricane recovery efforts.
On Tuesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) asked the task force to deploy K9s specially trained in human remains detection.
The request comes as the death toll for Category 4 Hurricane Helene continues to climb, with at least 130 confirmed deaths across six states at the time of publication.
The West Metro Fire District said a K9 and its handler are now traveling to a staging location in Charlotte prior to receiving their mission assignment.
Over the past week, firefighters from Colorado Task Force One assisted in recovery efforts in both Florida and North Carolina.
The task force is now joining teams from Pennsylvania, Indiana and Missouri to complete wide-area search and rescue operations in the Crooked Creek area after widespread flooding and damage in North Carolina. On Oct. 1, the group also started operations in the Old Fort community, West Metro Fire Rescue said.
The deployed task force, which was originally sent to the region on Sept. 25, is a 45-member team that includes firefighters from Colorado Springs and Fort Carson.
