Nearly a month after Hurricane Rita hit the Texas-Louisiana border, two teams of local firefighters returned to Meadows Field Sunday morning.
When Hurricane Rita came ashore Sept. 26, it was not as strong as forecasters predicted.
In fact, it was weaker than Hurricane Katrina.
But in Rita's aftermath, members of the Kern County Fire Department were sent in to help.
"This is part of my life style," said Chief Dan Kleinnam from the National Forest Service. "My family is accustomed to it to a certain extent, being on the road as much as I am."
After two weeks, seven men and women returned from Texas, and five more from Mississippi.
"We were on the fringe of the damage," said Capt. Chuck Dickenson from the Kern County Fire Department. "There were a whole lot of trees down. Our primary purpose was to help restore the infrastructure, get power back to the folks who needed it."
For weeks, they'd seen hurricane damage on the news, but they said it was a lot different once they got there.
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