U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Southeast Region Report September 8, 2005

The Service’s Incident Management Team based in Lacombe, , continues to expand its community service activities (clearing roads, establishing emergency corridors, etc.) throughout the local community, the Gulf Coast, and the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. The Service team is beginning to expand its mission to include debris clean up around public sites such as schools, hospitals, police departments, court houses, etc. We estimate that nearly 150 Service employees deployed within the various missions in our agency are participating.

The Service is continuing to provide support (food, water, fuel, a safe place to spend the night) to local police, fire departments, Red Cross volunteers, and law enforcement engaged in search and rescue efforts in and

throughout the impacted area. This MacKenzie USFWS/Tom facility is also providing 200 meals to FWS crews open up roads and parking for Louisiana Heart Hospital, Lacombe, support a local hospital and began Louisiana. feeding 100 Marines yesterday. CNN interview and efforts of FWS The search and rescue operation rescuers, her sister would have probably based at the Mandalay NWR in Houma, died. Louisiana is working under the guidance of the St. Bernard Fire Department. Also Wednesday, another group of FWS The Service’s Southeast Region Office employees were working on search and of Law Enforcement agents are rescue activities with the Louisiana continuing to work with the FEMA Division of Wildlife and Fisheries. As search and rescue efforts throughout the they were finishing up search and rescue disaster area. attempts for the day, they witnessed a crash onto a nearby roof top. On Wednesday, CNN Political The group responded to assist in the Contributor Donna Brazile appeared live rescue of the two occupants in on CNN’s Situation Room and made an coordination with their air lift out by emotional plea for help to find her sister, another helicopter. During this same Sheila Brazile. Sheila lived in an assisted rescue mission, a Louisiana Department living facility in New Orleans and had of Wildlife and Fisheries airboat not been heard from since the storm hit. overturned while they were responding During Wolf Blitzer’s interview with to the helicopter crash. We also assisted Donna, an official with the Fish and in the rescue of the airboat crew. FWS Wildlife Service in Louisiana sent a boat Resident-Agent-In-Charge Bud Oliveri

USFWS/Tom MacKenzie USFWS/Tom to the last known place that Sheila was interviewed by NBC News and the Rocky Chesser, a fire fighter from Brazile had been seen. It was in a incident was reported last night. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge flooded area of New Orleans that had in Georgia, works in Louisiana. not yet been visited by rescuers. Fish Wildfire is becoming a major concern and Wildlife officials found Sheila and since there has been no additional Additional information five other people in this building. They rainfall since Hurricane Katrina. FWS Media contact coordination is being had no food and no water but are now assisted in extinguishing four brush fires handled by the Regional Office of safe. Donna Brazile said without the in the Lacombe area yesterday. External Affairs 404/679 7287.