Hurricane Milton: Milwaukee airport flights arrive from Florida
MILWAUKEE - As Hurricane Milton heads toward Tampa, time is of the essence as millions of people evacuate. Some travelers are headed to Wisconsin.
Several flights were canceled as of Tuesday. FOX6 News caught up with travelers who secured seats on a full flight from Orlando to Milwaukee on Tuesday morning.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
"It was really clear this morning flying out. The last two days, though, it'd been non-stop raining," said Eric Gillete. "Kept checking to make sure the flight wasn't getting canceled or anything. They told us were were going to be closing the airport tomorrow at 8 a.m., so we just got really lucky."
"My family, here back at home, just kind of worried how we were going to get back," Natalie Hanson said, "definitely was emotional."
FOX6 also spoke to people who still have some family members coming in on a later flight tonight from Orlando. Some have not been so lucky and are still trying to make their way out.
Featured
Hurricane Milton: We Energies crews head south, assist Florida utilities
More than two dozen We Energies workers will head south on Wednesday, Oct. 9 to assist Florida utilities dealing with Hurricane Milton.
Firefighters to Florida
As millions leave Florida, a smaller number of people may be headed toward the sunshine state.
Wisconsin Task Force 1, a statewide search and rescue team, is waiting to see if it will be deployed to Florida to help with rescue and recovery efforts in Milton's aftermath.
HURRICANE MILTON: Keep tabs on FOX6's latest hurricane and weather coverage
Sixteen members returned to Wisconsin over the weekend after working in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. Crews worked on the water and hiked tough terrain in an effort to reach people who were stranded.
"There's a lot of people that can't get water, they can't get food, they can't get fuel, they don't have electricity, they don't have cell service," said Fond du Lac Fire Rescue Lt. Shawn Kneeland. "It was pretty much going door to door to check on people and make sure nobody needed any assistance from us."
Task Force 1 has been used in Wisconsin, too. It helped rescue people during the 2018 floods in Crawford County and searched for victims of the 2018 Cambria mill explosion.