STURGEON BAY, Wis. – The U.S. Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay search and rescue crew, that were deployed to North Dakota to assist with flooding operations, are scheduled to return home, Friday, at approximately 11:30 p.m.
Sturgeon Bay crewmen were released from operations, Thursday, and are driving their 20-foot trailer-able air boat back to the station.
They conducted three to four missions per day checking for stranded residents in need of assistance. In total, the Sturgeon Bay crew evacuated seven people from their homes along with several pets.
The Sturgeon Bay crew also enforced a safety zone during the dynamiting of the ice dam which formed along the Missouri River in Bismark, N.D.
“Because of their high level of training and standardization, our airboat crews were able to blend seamlessly into a multi-agency force of local, state and federal responders”, said Captain Bruce Jones, commander of Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan. “Readiness to deploy to natural disasters around the country is one of our most important missions. ‘All threats, all hazards, always ready’ is the Coast Guard’s vision statement, and all Coast Guard crews deployed to North Dakota fulfilled the vision proudly.”
Sturgeon Bay is one of several stations that make up Sector Lake Michigan. Sector Lake Michigan, based in Milwaukee, oversees the operations and administration of 22 units, including 19 Search and Rescue Stations, one Marine Safety Unit, one Marine Safety Detachment and one Sector Field Office.
