BECKLEY, W.Va. — We typically think of West Virginia’s Natural Resources Police in their traditional role of “game warden.” They’re the ones who check hunting and fishing license in the field, make sure you didn’t catch too many trout, patrol the lake or river on boats, and handle the enforcement of our hunting and fishing regulations. However, the role of the NRP isn’t limited to those jobs. They have full police powers in West Virginia and in times of emergency, like the June 23rd floods, they took on a number of different roles both in the response and in the weeks of recovery which have followed.
“A lot of our guys are swiftwater rescue trained, so we responded initially to some of the hardest hit areas like White Sulphur Springs and anywhere along the Greenbrier River,” said Lt. Dennis Feazell. “The first few nights were basically rescues, getting people out of trees and getting people out of houses using our swiftwater rescue boats.”
In fact, the emergency was so dire on that first chaotic night, the DNR was using anything that could float almost to engage in swiftwater rescue. Officers were piloting kayaks and rubber rafts and enlisting the help of trusted whitewater guides to aid them in a number of the efforts. It’s believed they save quite a few lives that night.
“There’s too many stories to list,’ said Feazell. “There’s a case in White Sulphur Springs where a man was trapped in his car, he was about to be swept down the river and he was hypothermic. Our guys went out and got him and the paramedics said if had been much longer he wouldn’t have made it.”
The swiftwater rescue training is a specialized skill the DNR requires of many of its officers who work in areas where whitewater will be part of their areas of patrol. The specialized training and knowledge of the Natural Resources Police was invaluable to other agencies engaged in flood response, rescue, and recovery.
“The days after the flood, we know how to get places. Where a road might be washed out our vehicles are able to get around it and our guys know how to get there,” said Feazell. “We were able to help the National Guard get to some people who were in flooded out areas to check on them and get them supplies.”
The officers are also working closely with teams still combing the flooded areas of Greenbreir County for a teenage girl who is the last of the 23 victims who died and is still unaccounted for. Officers are working with the State Police, National Guard, and k-9 search teams to explore riverbanks and large debris piles in hopes of locating the young girl who was swept away while trying to escape the rising waters.
The DNR’s officers were also detailed to night time patrols in areas where homes were severely damaged and destroyed. They worked to prevent looting and also investigated and made several arrests in areas for flood fraud at relief distribution sites.
“West Virginians have donated a lot of stuff,” said Feazell. “There have been some people come in claiming to be flood victims to get that stuff when they really aren’t. We made some arrests over that.”
Flood response certainly isn’t the normal duty for the brown clad Natural Resources Police officers, but when the state is in the situation which followed the June 23rd floods, it’s all hands on deck.
“It’s different work, but it’s important work,” Feazell explained. “Our guys have unique skill sets and unique ability to serve the people of West Virginia. We’re going to do what we have to to serve them and help get them back on their feet. We’re going to do it until the job is done.”