Rescue crews in Sabine Pass; Port Arthur residents looking for water, gas, ice

By SARAH MOORE : Beaumont Enterprise PORT ARTHUR — Sabine Pass was still under water Sunday. After residents there spent years recovering from Hurricane Rita’s devastation, another hurricane, Ike, Saturday sent in another wave of destruction.Resident Travis Berg decided to evacuate Friday when the surge started, miles ahead of the massive storm’s approach.

I sat in Lumberton and watched it blow through,” Berg said, adding that at 8:30 a.m., before the storm had completely passed, he and fiance Cheryl Gore were on the road back to Sabine Pass.

Berg was unfazed by the journey through the storm, but Gore admitted to being rattled.

“The closer we got here, the harder it blew and the darker it got,” she said.

The boat ride was terrifying.

But what they saw when they got to Sabine Pass was even worse.

Gore said the town was devastated.

The hurricane swept houses away so you couldn’t even tell a house had ever been there.

Berg suffered crushing losses to his home and business.

Berg and Gore, both 43, had come down to water’s edge at the bottom of the Texas 87 bridge to check the water level Sunday.

Berg said he had only just gotten back on an even keel from Hurricane Rita when Ike hit.

He planned to reopen his businesses, but wasn’t sure if he’d rebuild his home.

But Sabine Pass would rise again, he predicted.

“Sabine Pass has always taken care of itself,” he said. “We just need the necessities: electricity, food and water, and we’ll recover. The people down here don’t give up.”

Waters had been receding steadily since Saturday they topped out at about 14 feet Saturday morning, and Berg anticipated being able to make the trip on wheels by Monday. It was about 5.5 feet by Sunday afternoon.

Capt. Larry Collins of the Los Angeles Fire Department, part of a FEMA integrated search and rescue team, was in charge of the operation in the Port Arthur region. Collins was directing the boat search of Sabine Pass from the spot at the bottom of the Texas 87 bridge where the road disappeared into flood water.

Collins said three people had been transported out Saturday, but so far Sunday.

Fortunately, no fatalities had yet been reported.

On Sunday, one firefighter cut his hand while on the search, but otherwise no injuries had been reported.

“It’s a good thing most people heeded the warnings and left,” Collins commented. “The good news is we’re not finding bodies.”

Collins was one of hundreds — or maybe more — who converged on the area from across the nation to provide disaster assistance.

Collins said 20 years ago regions were left to struggle with disasters on their own, with whatever state resources might be available to them.

He noted that a nationwide network of emergency responders ready to spring into action to assist in hurricanes, earth quakes, floods, and other disasters helped everyone.

Meanwhile, in Port Arthur proper, residents were struggling with a more moderate level of damage.

While some homes and businesses were all but decimated, for most the destruction was limited to downed trees, lost shingles, and blown down fences, sheds and other light structures.

Missouri-based Convoy of Hope was in Port Arthur on Sunday handing out basic supplies to residents cut off from essential services like electricity, potable water and grocery stores.

Thomas Lane, a Port Arthur resident who came to the site for assistance, ended up offering his to the volunteers manning the site.

“I saw them struggling and offered my help,” he said.

Lane helped transport supplies from the three big truck trailers full of ice, water and MREs.

Lane, a 49-year-old boilermaker, had evacuated his daughter and three grandchildren, but stayed himself because he didn’t want to leave his house.

Jerome Williams of Port Arthur was in line at the site.

Williams had stayed in his home, which had suffered damage to windows, roof and porches.

Williams didn’t have a generator, but was using candles to see by at night.

He was careful about the candles, though, mindful of the five houses that burned to the ground on Stillwell during the storm.

Port Arthur resident Kalon Garlington waited in line with friends and family Sunday.

The 30-year-old boilermaker had provided transportation to the site to neighbors without their own vehicles.

Garlington, who said his house had escaped with minor damage, wore a carefree demeanor.

“I’m just blessed,” he said. “I’ve got a generator that runs my house… but we need to find a gas station.”

So far, that might be a bit of a problem.

On Sunday, the at least one was gas station Memorial Boulevard opened to sell gas about noon.

Word got out and the immediate vicinity was soon swamped with perhaps a hundred residents looking to fill up.

Some, like Anthony McPherson, were completely out of gas and had pushed their vehicles into the station.

The 55-year-old roofer was frustrated because Wal-Mart was up and running — but only providing gas to emergency personnel.

McPherson questioned why emergency personnel didn’t come prepared with their own supplies.

McPherson and other residents also expressed concern that emergency numbers given to them before the storm were not working.

He said he didn’t blame the police department, which he knew was inundated with calls, but he hoped for some relief soon.

“A lot of people are trapped here and everything is shut down,” McPherson said.

Owner Hung Bui said he had about 5,000 gallons of gasoline to sell — but only one working pump.The rest were down due to storm damage.

Tempers flared as drivers who had waited in line for more than an hour jostled for position.

Bui rushed around trying to soothe irate drivers and solve problems. But Bui said he could make everyone happy.

“They’ll be all right,” he said. “I’ll take care of that.”