Members of Civil Air Patrol's Texas Wing braced for Hurricane Ike, urging residents to "stay safe" while moving CAP aircraft and equipment away from coastal communities. Members of the Texas Wing also flew a "high-bird" communications mission for the Texas State Operations Center in advance of Ike, which is expected to make landfall late tonight or early Saturday as a powerful Category 3 hurricane.
 
"Operations for today include relocating aircraft and a joint agency high-bird mission," said Lt. Col. Jack Jackson, vice commander of the Texas Wing and the CAP liaison in the Texas State Operations Center, or SOC. "We are providing an aircraft and crew as well as two communications units. The high bird (aircraft) will collect data from other agencies' aircraft and relay it to the two ground-based communications units."
 
Coastal towns such as Galveston were already seeing a storm surge this afternoon, and forecasters warned that a potentially deadly 20-foot wall of water could make its way inland. Tropical storm winds of 75 mph also were reported, and gusts of 125 mph or more were expected after Ike makes landfall.
 
"It looks like Ike may remain a Cat 3 until it leaves the Houston area (about 60 miles north of Galveston)," said Jackson. "Everyone, please stay safe."
 
Maj. Robert Brecount, information officer for Texas Wing's hurricane missions, said CAP officials were watching the weather and conferring with other agencies at the SOC. "Lt Col. Jackson has been in contact with all Texas group commanders and has coordinated efforts to find safe haven for all the aircraft usually kept along the Gulf Coast,," said Brecount. "With the constant help of the commanders and all the flight crews involved, the aircraft and other assets are now safely protected from the dangerous winds of Hurricane Ike."
 
Relocating the aircraft and other CAP assets like vehicles and communication equipment wasn't easy because of the uncertainty of the path of the storm. "Hurricane Ike continues to be erratic," said Jackson. "There have been several major changes of the path in the last few days. This and other weather changes have caused us to have to alter the relocation path for aircraft."

Ike took a slightly more northerly track late Thursday, aiming more toward Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city. Authorities there told residents earlier today to brace rather than flee, even as people in low-lying areas closer to the Gulf of Mexico were told to leave or "face certain death." By noon today, more than 1 million people living near the Gulf Coast had evacuated to other Texas cities like San Antonio, Austin and Dallas.
 
The arrival of Ike comes two days after members of Civil Air Patrol's Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama wings wrapped up aerial damage assessment missions for state agencies, including the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and the Louisiana Air National Guard. Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama aircrews flew 93 sorties and more than 185 hours in CAP aircraft to photograph critical infrastructure like dams, river locks, power plants, power lines and gas plants.

FMI: www.cap.gov