Local DNR preparing to head East for hurricane aid

Officers from Michiana are ready to help those affected by Hurricane Matthew.

Indiana Conservation Officer John Boyd says his agency always maintains a state of readiness to respond to disasters like the one barreling for the East Coast.

Tuesday, there was a nationwide request for assistance along the eastern seaboard.

At least 8 DNR officers from Michigan City, along with dozens of others from across the state, have volunteered for deployment and are now on standby.

Conservation officers have been given six hours to get their equipment ready for a possible long deployment to North Carolina.

"What we're doing now is we're establishing teams to respond and those teams include swift water techs, conservation officers with all their training and skills to respond so we have the boats and equipment and so what our officers are doing right now is getting those things fueled up and ready to go,” said Boyd.

Boyd says his team did something very similar to this in 2005 for Hurricane Katrina.