CHANTILLY, Va. ( DC News Now ) — Members of Virginia Task Force 1 (VATF1), which was deployed to Florida and North Carolina due to Hurricane Helene, returned home to Fairfax County on Wednesday night.
The first responders, who returned home to an open-arms welcome from family members including spouses and children, described the devastation they saw and the challenges they faced.
“As far as being in the mountains [in the Asheville, North Carolina area], we’re not used to that,” said Capt. Jen Hiner. “There were a lot of mudslides, things that we were just not used to as a team that gets deployed for hurricanes and earthquakes and stuff like that. So it was a challenge when it came to getting those big trucks with trailers up those mountains and up steep areas and mudslides. And we were just worried about different things that we’ve never encountered before as a team.”
Virginia Task Force 1 deploys to Florida ahead of hurricane
VATF1 began their deployment in Florida but moved to North Carolina when they realized the extent of the damage. Multiple members described roads that were destroyed in the storm…