(Seguin) – Seguin is now home base for getting emergency supplies to communities across South Texas. The Joint Base San Antonio-Seguin Auxiliary Airfield on Highway 90-A East has been established as a FEMA operation staging area.
Patrick Pinder, Guadalupe County emergency management coordinator and fire marshal, says as soon as the county was notified about the staging site on Monday, hundreds and hundreds of big rigs started making their way into the community.
“So, the citizens of Guadalupe County are going to see an increase in truck traffic. The auxiliary airfield off of Auxiliary Airport Road, FEMA is using it as a staging area for South Texas. There’s an area in Houston. San Antonio also has some staging areas, but there’s over a thousand semis being delivered to that location, in and out all day. We’ve been also at our offices coordinating with FEMA, the Texas Forrest Service, met with the incident commander out there so we are helping them as needed. We’re making sure that those trucks have access in and out of Auxiliary Airport Road onto 90. We put in a Star (State of Texas Assistance Requests) request to the state to make sure there is signage brought in, so Commissioner Seidenberger if you have any questions of citizens of citizens, any traffic control issues, immediate traffic control — issues we talked about on the scene and the sherrif’s office will address if there is any continuing traffic efforts. We want to make sure we address those for those citizens out there. So if you haven’t seen a FEMA operation, commissioners, drive by that auxiliary airfield, drive down that road and you’ll see FEMA trucks, semis, there’s probably out there a few hundred of them and they’re in and out all day. Like I said yesterday, we got the call at five o’clock, said our truck was getting ready and at 6:30, they said the trucks are leaving. At 6:40, it was at our county road and bridge yard, so those trucks are leaving from seven to seven all day long,” said Pinder.
Guadalupe County Commissioner Pct. 2 Greg Seidenberger, who represents that portion of the county, says the staging area will help quickly distribute, bundle and transport food and water to the various jurisdictions that need them. He says following last week’s winter storm, thousands of Texans are still without many of the basics.
“I’ve received a lot of calls from people wondering what is going on out there. Just so the public understands, and Patrick can help with this, it’s trucks coming in with one item. They’re being offloaded, and then all the different items are being put on other trucks to be dispatched to the communities that need them,” said Seidenberger.
Although Seguin is home to the staging site for FEMA, Pinder says no direct FEMA assistance for the public will be available at the airfield.
“That is not a site for anybody to seek assistance. That is a government facility, there is government, federal police out there. If you go on that property without permission, it’s federal charges, so don’t go out there to seek assistance. If you need assistance, contact the local government –– the cities and the counties and try to get that aid,” said Pinder.
Guadalupe County Judge Kyle Kutscher says the FEMA operation will look similar to the setup also established at the airfield during Hurricane Harvey. The operation is slated to continue at the airfield through March 28.