The Iowa Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, or CAP, is in the air and surveying storm damage from the April 26th tornadoes that struck western and central Iowa.
Colonel Jonathan Lartigue, the wing’s commander, says the CAP responded at the request of the U.S. Air Force, as well as federal and state agencies, including FEMA and the Iowa Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Management. Lartigue says they’re working to document the tornado damage.
“Our primary objective is to take airborne imagery, photographs, of the tornado damage in specific urban areas and in rural areas along the track of the storm,” Lartigue says. “We’re going to accomplish this with air crews traveling over the affected areas who will be taking high-resolution photography with geo-referenced camera systems.”
The CAP’s pilots started flying over Iowa on Monday and will continue for the time being. “We are all volunteers and we have crews flying in Nebraska as well as in Iowa today,” he says, “with other crews on standby for future days.”
Lartigue says their work will help to ensure assistance gets to those who need it.
“Damage from tornadoes is never pretty, and by documenting this damage and getting it to our partner agencies as quickly as possible, it helps them to more rapidly assess those areas that are impacted and the degree to which they’re impacted,” he says. “That allows them to get help and assistance into those areas that need it the most as quickly as possible.”
He says Civil Air Patrol pilots understand the role they play in the storm recovery process.
“They all have families. They all have full time jobs or sometimes they’re retirees, but they give up their time in situations like this because they see the value they can return to the community,” Lartigue says. “If we can help someone get assistance sooner and help them more quickly get on the path to recovering from the damage that has affected their communities and their lives, that’s the reward enough for us to do this.”
The Civil Air Patrol, a USAF Auxiliary, operates 560 aircraft across the country, and performs inland search and rescue, saving 155 lives in 2019. More than 66,000 members of the CAP perform homeland security & disaster relief missions, promote STEM education, and mentor 28,000 cadet members.
(By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic)