Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Game Wardens were on the front lines, ready to help, when Hurricane Ike roared into Texas.

We’ve got some people that don’t even have but one set of clothes. That’s all they left with. The storm surge was terrible here. It covered half the country. We’ve got debris everywhere. It’s an ecological disaster.

Bobby Jobes is a Game Warden stationed in Chambers County.

One call that we got was a resident that had left Crystal Beach, and he was in contact with two elderly ladies—one was a diabetic. After an hour of my Captain, Rod Ousley, talking to them, they finally agreed to come out. The oldest lady was 89 years old. [SFX—Blackhawk helicopter] We got them to a highway, and managed to flag down an Army Blackhawk helicopter, and got them evacuated.

Game wardens—like Officer John Fiest—work where they live, and had homes that lay in shambles from the storm even as they helped others to safety. Being a peace officer is more than a mere job to these dedicated men and women.

Go down to the fishing villages like Oak Island, Smith point. Just unbelievable devastation. Bolivar, Crystal Beach, Gilchrist—just absolutely unbelievable. It’s so emotional that you just…uh…It’s heart wrenching.

Find a link to Hurricane Ike updates at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…our thanks to Karen Loke for her help with this story… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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