Gov. Gavin Newsom has deployed more California first responders to Florida, including some from the Bay Area, as Hurricane Milton made landfall in the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday.

By Thursday, more than 3 million people remained without power across the state and tornados had ravaged areas. The storm had reached Category 5 wind speeds in the Gulf of Mexico, but slowed to a Category 3 at landfall and then Category 1 as it exited the state. 

Hurricane and storm surge warnings were removed for most areas, but flood advisories remained in effect Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.  

An additional 70 firefighters joined 144 already sent from California to Florida to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which ravaged multiple Southern states on Sept. 27. 

Firefighters from Orange County and the Menlo Park Fire Protection District include “highly specialized” personnel trained in structural collapse and flood environments, Newsom’s office said.  

In total, California has now deployed 354 first responders to the disaster zone. 

Siesta Key, Fla., is seen as Florida Army National Guard Soldiers with 1-111th General Support Aviation Battalion conduct flight operations during Hurricane Milton response throughout the western coast on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Sgt. N.W. Huertas/U.S. Army via Bay City News)

First: Florida Army National Guard’s Alpha Company, 753rd Brigade Engineer Battalion travels through Gulfport, Fla., neighborhoods surrounding their initial staging area at Boca Ciega High School. (Sgt. Spencer Rhodes/U.S. Army via BCN) Last: Siesta Key, Fla., is seen as Florida Army National Guard Soldiers with 1-111th General Support Aviation Battalion conduct flight operations during Hurricane Milton response throughout the western coast on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Sgt. N.W. Huertas/U.S. Army via BCN)

Additionally, last Friday, PG&E sent over 400 personnel and 300 vehicles to Georgia to provide mutual aid to Georgia Power to restore power across areas impacted by Helene. 

On Tuesday, PG&E said it would reassign personnel and vehicles to Daytona Beach, Florida, to support power restoration efforts after Milton passes through the area.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.