Despite almost a week of delays due to smoke and poor visibility, volunteer pilots delivered 400 pounds of donated food to the Point during an exercise to help establish another supply line for emergency situations.
On September 20, two airplanes landed at Point Roberts and were met by Point Roberts Food Bank and Point Roberts Emergency Preparedness (PREP) volunteers who helped unload the boxes of food.
“We are able to go to Bellingham to get food and we also get local support, but if we can’t get food or other supplies we now have this other magnificent support,” said food bank director Henry Rosenthal.
The airlift was part of ongoing drills through the Emergency Volunteer Air Corps (EVAC), a group of volunteer general aviation pilots, and the Disaster Airlift Response Team (DART) in a coordinated effort to bring supplies to areas that can become cut off from access to food and other needed supplies.
“In the event of the earthquake we are due for or in other cases of isolation, general aviation can definitely contribute to helping people be less isolated and improve their conditions,” said Sky Terry, Northwest Regional coordinator for EVAC. He added the group also had float planes that can bring supplies to the Point in the event the airstrip becomes unusable. “It’s another tool in the toolbox.”
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