Kentucky National Guard assisting London tornado victims

LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56) — Hundreds of community members, first responders, and volunteers are coming together to help those impacted by Friday night’s tornado. Some of those first responders who are helping are members of the Kentucky National Guard.

Responding to natural disasters is among the many jobs of the Kentucky National Guard. So, when an EF4 tornado tore through the community in southern Kentucky on Friday, they were ready to act.

Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency ahead of those storms, allowing the activation of the guard. On Saturday, 1st Lt. William Scaggs arrived here in London, helping to establish an incident command post where guardsmen and women could plan their recovery missions.

Scaggs said that at that point, most of the search and rescue phase was complete and that they found other ways to assist the needs of the community.

“When I got on site, the rescues were complete, the search for missing persons was complete. So, we immediately really rolled into security for this site and assisting with the distribution of goods. We’re currently rotating into assisting with the cleanup efforts here,” said Scaggs.

The Kentucky National Guard helps serve as a crucial link between state and federal resources.
Their missions go far beyond the search and rescue phase, as guardsmen and women will remain in these communities for the days and weeks ahead.

Scaggs said they still have a group searching the site, but their main job now is to distribute goods, equipment, and provide a sense of security.

“Part of our mission is keeping roads open and accessible to emergency crews. A lot of people, when an emergency like this happens, everybody’s curious and likes to see what’s going on. So, part of that is just making sure that the only people down here are the people who need to be here, as well as preventing looting and anything else that takes place down here,” Scaggs said. “Our guard members are from these communities; we are part of these communities. So anytime something like this happens, there’s an eagerness to want to help. I think that’s true for everyone who’s responded down here.”

Scaggs said he is one of nearly 30 members of the National Guard working around the clock to support both Laurel and Pulaski counties.