Mike Mower, director of constituent services in the governor's office, stood at the bottom of the plane's stairs, helping more fragile women and children deplane. The flight had 30 elderly passengers, 15 in wheelchairs and 10 children under the age of 12.

"It was a very emotional event. The people were so appreciative. It brought all of the emotions to the surface realizing what our fellow Americans have been through," Mower said.

The evacuees were taken through an initial medical screening to ensure they could make the bus trip to Camp Williams. Two people were sent to the hospital by ambulance. Ron Gebhart, chief of staff for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said one person was injured during the hurricane and another appeared to be suffering from a chronic illness.

Several people, he said, needed medicines they have gone without for days. All of the immobile evacuees needed new wheelchairs because they were not allowed to bring their own on the flight.

"We were a little surprised about what good condition they're in," Gebhart said. "We clearly had enough staff to deal with the issues."

The evacuees will go through a more intensive screening this weekend at Camp Williams, where medical staff will determine whether anyone suffers from water-borne diseases from living in unsanitary conditions.

Many of the evacuees were surprised to see mountains and the Great Salt Lake when they stepped off the plane.

Utah National Guard Assistant Adjunct General Bruce Frandsen said the refugees were told they were getting on a plane to Texas when they took off.

"One man said, 'This doesn't look like Houston. But it looks good,' " Frandsen said.

For the evacuees, anything was better than the conditions they were living in just hours earlier.

Phillip Clay said he had to swim through water that was neck deep at times. He was eventually plucked off the roof of a school by the Coast Guard. All that he had left he carried in a small backpack.

"This is really a pleasure," he said of being in Utah. "I'm overjoyed, really."

The last time Darrell Johnson saw his wife, Carol, he put her in a rowboat that was transporting residents off their roofs to safety. As of Saturday, he still had not heard from her.

"I lost everything I own," he said.

Johnson, a retired schoolteacher, said when water first started going into his house, "I thought it would be a minor thing, then whoosh."

Once Johnson made it to the Superdome, he said, conditions quickly went sour. Toilets became plugged or overflowed, and the stench both inside and outside grew quickly as people left urine and feces wherever they wanted. Food and water were available but not in great supply, he said.