Corsicana Iced In, Palestine Forced To Return; Nacogdoches, Hemphill Crews In Field
Release Date: February 25, 2003
Release Number: 3171-37
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Lufkin, TX -- Ice and sleet kept Corsicana crews camp bound and Palestine crews returned at midday because of worsening weather in their area Tuesday, but Nacogdoches and Hemphill crews were able to pursue shuttle materials because of less adverse weather in their respective search areas, recovery officials said today.
Following are reports on Tuesday's activities:
- The primary search area remains a 10-mile-by-240-mile corridor along the shuttle flight path from Ellis County to Toledo Bend Reservoir. Ground search concentrates on a two-mile area on either side of the projected flight path in this corridor. Air search is over a five-mile area on either side of the flight path.
- The Southern Area Incident Command Blue Team, operating from the Nacogdoches base camp, has 36 crews of 20 persons each in the field. Camp complement remains steady at about 1,100.
- The Martin team, based in Hemphill, has 35 crews of 20 each in the field. The camp complement is about 1,000.
- The California Interagency Management Team 1, based in Palestine, has 35 crews of 20 each. They hit the field in the morning, but had to return because of worsening weather at midday. The camp complement is more than 1,000.
- The Pacific Northwest National Incident Management Team Two at Corsicana now has 48 crews of 20 persons each on hand, but ice and sleet kept them out of the field. The camp complement is more than 1,200.
- In Longview, at the East Texas Regional Airport, the mobilization team is working with the City of Longview to set up a staging area at the Longview Fairgrounds. Crews that come in to the airport will receive field operations training there and be ready to join search operations upon reaching base camp.
- Dive team operations at Toledo Bend Reservoir were delayed by adverse morning conditions, but divers went into the water about noon as conditions improved. Eight dive teams from the U.S. Navy, City of Houston, City of Galveston, Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are engaged in the operation.
Last Modified: Monday, 14-Apr-2003 10:19:14