Tyler

The City of Tyler Fire Department announced this morning that 323 medical special needs evacuees from Hurricane Gustav will return to Beaumont today.

These 323 evacuees have been sheltered in three locations where they received medical care during the threat of Hurricane Gustav. Buses, ambulances and transport vans were staged in Tyler overnight in preparation of the repatriation of these evacuees.

Nearly 150 ambulance drivers spent the night at Harvey Convention Center Wednesday so that loading of the medical special needs evacuees could begin first thing Thursday morning. The Texas State Guard will be dispatched to each of the shelter sites to assist with loading the evacuees and creating the manifests needed to begin the convoys to Beaumont.

A similar process that was used in the repatriation of the general population evacuees will be used today. After each vehicle is loaded, it will go to Harvey Convention Center where pets will be reunited with their families.

State Guard troops will provide evacuees with food and water for the return trip. The vehicle will then be staged in a convoy that will be accompanied by a Department of Public Safety vehicle for the entire return trip.

Six evacuees from Louisiana still remain in Tyler and will return once their communities are able to receive them. They will be the last evacuees from the nearly 3,300 that were housed in shelters throughout the Tyler area.