TSA Supports Evacuation Efforts in Southern California
News & Happenings
October 24, 2007
As wildfires ravage much of southern California, TSA is stepping up its efforts to support the evacuation underway at area airports. TSA's National Deployment Force sent 25 Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) to San Diego International Airport (SAN) to augment the workforce and assist by screening families evacuating their homes.
In coordination with the National Response Coordination Center, a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), TSA will deploy two additional teams comprised of 24 TSOs each to SAN. TSOs are arriving from airports across the country, including Salt Lake City; Portland, Ore; Austin, Texas; Albuquerque, N.M.; Palm Springs, Calif.; Lehigh Valley, Pa.; and Seattle. TSA relies upon the flexibility of its workforce to maintain uninterrupted operations at airports during an emergency situation.
While these TSOs from around the country are assisting American citizens at the airports, they are also helping their colleagues. More than 100 TSOs and other personnel from SAN, Los Angeles International, John Wayne (Orange County), Ontario (San Bernardino) and Santa Barbara have evacuated their homes as a result of the spreading wildfires. These airports make daily contact with their evacuated employees to ensure they are safe and are provided the latest information.
"Our security officers are working hard everyday to balance their responsibilities between protecting the traveling public and their own families," said Mike Aguilar, federal security director for SAN. "Unfortunately, there have been many TSA families who have either had to evacuate or lost their homes. But we are committed to keeping operations moving normally at both San Diego and Carlsbad airports while at the same time supporting our city, officers and their families' efforts to recover from these horrific fires."
TSA's Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) is also playing a role in the interagency emergency management effort. The FAMS Los Angeles Field Office is providing support to FEMA coordination centers in southern California and FAMS and at FEMA headquarters in Washington.
TSA will continue to coordinate its efforts with FEMA and other government agencies and deploy support staff to the region.
