The Phoenix Fire Department says an Arizona urban search and rescue task force is headed to Louisiana and then probably on to Alabama or Florida to respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
Fire Capt. Larry Subervi says the task force has departed San Antonio, Texas, under Federal Emergency Management Agency orders to overnight in Shreveport, Louisiana, in preparation for staging somewhere in Alabama or possible deployment in Florida.
The task force went to Texas last month to provide help after Harvey.
Subervi describes the team as being "in great spirits and ready to answer the call of those in need."
Hurricane Irma is the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history. It made its first landfall in the islands of the northeast Caribbean early Wednesday.
