Utah rescuers get call

DALLAS — Whenever somebody from Utah Task Force One needs something, they go to Clint Mecham.

"I'm kind of the team's mom in a lot of respects," he said jokingly.

Rather than den mother, Mecham's official position with Utah's Urban Search and Rescue Team is logistics team manager.

"I get the team here, keep 'em working, then get them home," he said.

Mecham and the other 30-plus members of Utah Task Force One remained at the Adam's Mark hotel in Dallas Saturday awaiting word from Federal Emergency Management Agency officials on whether their services in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita would be needed. They were told late Saturday that they would be moving to Houston this morning to replace other units there.

The team is prepared to leave the hotel within 15 minutes of receiving its orders. Ten USAR teams from across the country are stationed in Dallas and another seven in San Antonio.

Leaders of Utah Task Force One held meetings throughout the day Saturday, keeping others informed of what was happening and what FEMA was doing, but there wasn't much new information to pass along.

The word from FEMA to all of the urban search and rescue teams gathered in Texas was "sit tight."

Utah Task Force One Chief Larry Littleford passed on that message Saturday afternoon to his group.

"It doesn't look like we're going anywhere for the next few days until we get some damage assessments," he said. "This is what we do. It's not unusual really."

The difference with Katrina was that the damage was known before the team was deployed.

Saturday night, Utah Task Force One was working on finding a film projector and movies to help pass the time.

Although the team had not technically been put to work yet, members of the task force's logistics and planning teams have had plenty to do.

It's Mecham's job to make sure all of the team's needs, including their supplies, are filled. Essentially they give him a daily shopping list and he goes out and finds the materials, whether it be batteries, socks or even doggie toys for the search canines.

That's not always easy when the nearest store is sometimes 100 miles away or when supplies, such as gas, are in short supply and high demand.