After several years of responding to devastating hurricanes like Wilma and Charley, the Lee County chapter of the American Red Cross says it’s learned valuable information about handling major disasters. The national chapter admitted this week it made mistakes after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast last August. Heidi Ruster is executive director of the Lee County chapter. She says her local organization is prepared...but they can always do a better job of getting bilingual volunteers and those in ethnic communities.

“I think we are very close to being there. I think it’s a constant process for us to recruit and train volunteers that reflect our population.”

Ruster says her chapter just landed a 20-thousand dollar grant for a Hispanic outreach program.

Gerry LaCavera (LAH-cuh-VAIR-uh) with the Florida Division of Forestry says dry weather and brisk winds are a dangerous combination.

byte: :40 the high winds that we have can make fires more intense and also spread more quickly. One of our worst nightmares is to arrive on a scene and have the winds pick up or even have them gusty. that’s one factor we really don’t want to see when we get out there.

LaCavera says Southwest Florida is extremely dry right now and become even more so as the dry season continues. Rainfall is generally sparse during March, April and May. The summer weather pattern of afternoon showers and thunderstorms begins in June.

In March the Florida Division of Forestry responded to 41 reported wildfires. The average, recorded over two decades, is 18 wildfires. More people might be a factor in the increase. Spokesman Gerry Lacavera says almost all wildfires are sparked by human activity.

“the leading two causes – are both associated with people being careless – yard fires, trash fires that people don’t pay attention to and get away from them – the other factor is fires that are intentionally set..”

Lacavera says even barbeque grills and carelessly tossed cigarettes can cause wildfires when conditions are this dry. He says Southwest Florida will remain “in the danger zone” until the summer rainy season begins in June.

This year’s attendees include some big hitters – including Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff. Charlotte County Emergency Management Director Wayne Sallade says Chertoff’s presence is no surprise – following last year’s record breaking hurricane season and greatest natural disaster- dollar wise - in American History.

“those of us who have been in the business for a long time know there was a significant lack of attention to natural disasters after 9-11 – and a lot of our natoin’s focus went to terrorism prepardness and so many people as evidenced by what we saw in the upper gulf states apparently weren’;t paying attention when fl was hit by four storms in six weeks in 2004.

Chertoff outlined ways the government will streamline relief efforts this year. The government is assigning federal disaster responders to 13 states. The idea is to have them standing by to deliver aid and supplies quickly to victims following an emergency. In addition, FEMA will appoint top level disaster officials to oversee federal response in five regions where hurricanes are most likely to strike.

The Bonita Fire department now has small, pet oxygen masks in its arsenal of tools. The special masks cover the snout of a dog or a cat. Fire-rescue spokeswoman Debbi Redfield says having the easy-to-use masks can make all the difference in a fire.

“Pets really become part of people’s families and some people even consider them as close as their children. And a lot of times pets become confused. They hide under beds. They hide under sofas. They get very scared when there is a fire instead of running out of the house. So they’re very susceptible to smoke inhalation injuries.”

More than 135-thousand Floridians have gotten the federal aid since the hurricane came ashore in Southwest Florida last October. The FEMA assistance centers help people fill out disaster loan applications and try to weed through the bureaucratic red tape. So, far residents have received almost 300-million dollars. FEMA spokeswoman Denise Everhart says there’s still time to sign up for help...but time is running out.

“If you haven’t registered, get it done now. Get into a disaster recovery center if you have questions and need one-on-one personal contact. At this point in time, these disaster recovery centers have been open over three months and it is time to close them.”

The FEMA centers will begin to close in Collier County on Friday; in Lee and Hendry Counties, the centers shut down January 18th.

FEMA opened 41 disaster centers shortly after Hurricane Wilma struck in late October. Federal officials helped residents fill out stacks of paperwork to qualify for loans, rent assistance and other monetary aid. More than 135-thousand Floridians got a total of 290-million dollars. Florida FEMA spokeswoman Denise Everhart says three months later, the demand isn’t there.

“There aren’t enough people coming into these disaster recovery centers to justify the manpower and the time and with the deadline ending, there won’t be people coming to register. So it is time to close them.”

Disaster recovery centers in Collier County will begin to shut their doors this Friday. In Lee County, they’ll close on January 18th. The final day to apply for federal assistance is a week from Thursday.

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Many residents of Copeland, Everglades City and Chokoloskee are shoveling mud from their homes and cleaning up the rubble left in the wake of Hurricane Wilma.
It’s the hardest hit area in Southwest Florida, but as Alexa Elliott reports, the locals are resilient….