4,000 Guard Members Now Activated
Governor Rick Scott activated an additional 3,000 members of the Florida Army and Air National Guard to support with planning, logistics and operations in preparation for potential impacts from Hurricane Irma. A total of 4,000 members have now been activated and will respond to requests across the state to ensure communities are fully prepared for the storm. Tomorrow, 3,000 more National Guard members will be activated. As of Friday, the entire National Guard – 7,000 members – will be deployed.
Governor Scott said, “Today I am activating an additional 3,000 National Guardsmen to help with ongoing shelter operations and evacuations. We are expecting our state to have major impacts from Hurricane Irma and we are taking aggressive actions to make sure Florida is prepared. Today we will have more than 4,000 total Florida National Guard members activated, with all remaining members ready to report for duty first thing tomorrow to assist with preparation efforts. These men and women are putting themselves in harm’s way to save the lives of their fellow Floridians while many of their own families are evacuating. I am proud of their commitment to keeping our families safe.”
On Monday, Governor Scott issued Executive Order 17-235, which declared a state of emergency in all 67 counties within the State of Florida in response to Hurricane Irma and allowed for the immediate activation of National Guard members as preparedness actions continue.
