LATEST: These are pictures from just outside Grand Isle, LA … a barrier island with about 1500 residents.

About 80% of the power poles are down in town and sand has covered parts of the main roadway.

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I have taken this trip before in so many ways. The trip to see the wake of a hurricane that has just torn through neighborhoods, towns and fields.

The exact same trip down Highway 90 that heads south and then east from Lafayette through Morgan City, then into Houma and eventually onto New Orleans. My first hurricane back in 2002 had us in New Iberia, also along 90, where Lili seemed poised to flatten central Louisiana. While it did do some serious damage, like Gustav, it got to the coast and fell apart, but not before ruining the lives of many people. We also travelled 90 for Hurricane Katrina and a few weeks later surveying the damage from Rita.

I have dubbed 90, the hurricane highway for obvious reasons. A sad moniker since the highway runs through the heart of Cajun country. Across swamplands, bayou’s, fields of sugarcane, the road gives the traveller a view into the life of shrimping, crawdads and even gators. Unfortunately, we don’t get the chance to enjoy what might be seen most other days of the year, we instead see what now needs to be fixed, destroyed by the force of mother nature. The people however don’t seem to change.

Sure we meet people who are disappointed, hurt, upset at their luck, but in the end they endure. The people of the bayou are welcoming, more friendly than most and absolutely dedicated to staying and rebuilding.

As I sit here along the main road into Houma, I see all sorts of airboats towed by trucks, emergency and repair vehicles and Louisiana National Guard humvee’s. The soldiers have been a mainstay in these parts since Wednesday. In Morgan City and 32 miles east in Houma, they have monitored and followed the storm since last Wednesday. They now guard every exit off of the highway and also help patrol the streets. Many people evacuated from this region and they need to feel safe in knowing their homes are being watched and protected. If people return to homes that escaped the storm and any possible looting, they will be more likely to trust in knowing they can leave again…hopefully that wont be for some time.

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Gustav has come and gone through Lafayette, leaving in his wake widespread power outages and uprooted trees. Majestic, once tall, proud Live Oaks are dethroned, pushed to the ground by the bully on the school playground. Correspondent Jonathan Serrie is doing lives from one of many locations just like that. Chainsaws will make firewood from one of these huge oaks that may last as long as the hundred years or more that the mighty oak had been growing.

Our assignment this trip has been to service our Fox network affiliates. It can be a grueling pace in the best of circumstances, but throw in some tropical storm force winds and rain and it’s a recipe for exhaustion. The affiliate service is called “The Edge.” Jonathan provides live coverage for individual market stations throughout the country often doing as many as twelve live hits in an hour. Every hour. Hour after hour. Fox television stations from coast to coast. Remembering station call letters. Remembering station co-anchors. Laura and Mark, Allison and Steve, Jack and Jill… or was that John and Jill?

On any given story when doing lives for Fox News Channel we typically will do one or two hits an hour. Our producers Dan Gallo and Brooks Blanton work behind the scenes coordinating these continuous live shots and juggle phones better than any circus clown. At least they have a fall back career path! They do a remarkable job taking care of all of the crews needs including hotels, food, public relations with “unfriendlys”, writing scripts, helping with video feeds… thier tasks are too numerous to list them all. We have the absolute best field producers in the business at FNC and they’re an integral part of what us “the big dog”!

For the state of Louisiana Gustav was a test. From the lessons learned from Katrina there have been remarkable gains in levels of preparedness on the part of both officials and residents alike. Residents heeded the warnings and evacuated and officials were able to better concentrate on handling this potential disaster. Gustav was no Katrina, but he provided the guidepost to lead gulf coast residents as they further prepare for the NEXT big storm… and there will always be a next storm. Hannah here we come!

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TUESDAY MORNING: AFTER THE STORM

It may be days before officials know the full extent of the damage. But initial site surveys in the wake of Hurricane Gustav suggest it was no Katrina.

Here in Lafayette, LA, there are spotty power outages and some fallen trees. A huge live oak that fell on a house has become the backdrop for our live shots today as we deliver reports for local FOX stations around the country.

Our schedule is almost as busy as yesterday, but considerably easier given that we’re not working in heavy winds and driving rain. To see what that was like, click on the video.

MONDAY MORNING: BRACING FOR THE STORM

Roughly 2 million people have evacuated the Louisiana coast. Further inland, residents are hunkering down in their homes or other shelters.

Here in Fayetteville, First Baptist Church has opened its doors to approximately 2 dozen residents who fled their mobile homes, fearing the high winds of the approaching storm.

We are also using the Church property as a shelter of sorts… for our satellite truck. We’re hoping buildings on three sides will shield the satellite dish from the winds and allow us to report live, even while the storm is making landfall.

We have a busy schedule planned. In addition to reporting for FOX New Channel, we are also slated to deliver live reports to local FOX stations around the country almost every five minutes throughout, what promises to be, an eventful morning.

SUNDAY EVENING: LOOKING SOUTH

Shortly after arriving in Lafayette, LA, we went to one of the few supermarkets that were still open. The place was busy.

The bread aisle was almost empty. But the store seemed well-stocked with almost everything else.

We loaded up with supplies to carry us through the week, knowing it’s more likely than not that we’ll lose power tomorrow and, possibly, fresh running water.

Our biggest technical challenge will be shielding our satellite truck from the potential hurricane force winds and staying on the air as the worst of the storm bears down on the Louisiana coast. (Click on the video to watch our initial “site survey”).

Our shift tomorrow begins at 2:30 AM, as we prepare reports for local FOX stations across the country. So, I’m going to attempt to go to sleep early.

Looking out my hotel window, I can see clear skies to the north and ominous storm clouds to the south.  I know which to expect in the morning.

SUNDAY MORNING: HEADING WEST

I’m blogging from I-10. In the New Orleans area, authorities have reversed all inbound lanes to accommodate the thousands of residents and visitors who are heeding the mandatory evacuation notices. (Click on the video to see the evacuation in progress).

We saw heavy traffic heading out of the city as we flew into New Orleans yesterday evening. Driving into the downtown area, we saw police and national guardsmen stationed at major intersections.

Many businesses had already boarded up and closed. But some restaurants in the French Quarter were still open.

At a seafood restaurant off Bourbon Street, employees and customers watched the TVs intently as city and state officials warned residents of the dangers of the approaching storm.

The hotel we stayed at last night is one of a few planning to stay open during the storm. The majority of our FOX News hurricane coverage staff (and this is a sizeable group) will remain in New Orleans.

However, FOX is sending smaller crews to some of the outlying areas the storm path is likely to cross should it follow some of the computer models that show a possible landfall west of New Orleans.

I am among one of those crews. Our current destination: Lafayette, LA. But as with the storm, our plans are always subject to change at any second.

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7:32: Up to 200 homes in Plaquemines Parish could be at risk because of a levee being over topped. The Caernarvon Diversion levee is near the St. Bernard Parish line. It’s a private levee which means isn’t part of the federal levee system. Hurricane Katrina seriously damaged the levee three years ago and people living nearby had about ten feet of water in their homes. After Katrina, the Parish rebuilt the levee and raised it to about 8 feet. Despite their efforts, at about 3pm the levee was over topped.

The Caernarvon Diversion Levee protects the Braithwaite area. About 125-200 homes in Braithwaite could be impacted by floodwaters. There were people who stayed in Braithwaite to ride out the storm but it’s not known how many. Now they’re being urged to get out. The Sheriff’s Department is going door to door to help while Parish employees try to build up a section of the levee with sandbags

5:35: We are cautiously hopeful. Listening to the latest press conference about Hurricane Gustav, it looks like the majority of the region was able to escape major damage. In terms of flooding, there’s some reported in the Upper Ninth Ward because of overtopping, but the Army Corp of Engineers says New Orleans city pumps will take care of it. They’re also keep an eye on the Industrial Canal which has had “overlapping.”

Some of the areas they’re worried about are the southern coastal spots, places like Plaquemines Parish, Lafourche Parish and Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish. I haven’t been to Plaquemines, but I know they had evacuated all but a handful of employees, but then made a desperate call for contractors and employees to help build a sandwall to protect Belle Chasse. As for Lafourche, we had driven down to the southern tip, a community called Port Fourchon, for a story on Gulf drilling. From there we had jogged over to Grand Isle. It’s a stretch of mostly vacation homes and such on a strip of island. You could see how it might fare poorly in a hurricane. Officials says they haven’t heard much from these areas because power is out. They’ll start doing damage assessments from the air tomorrow.

We’re doing live shots on Canal outside our hotel just on the edge of the Quarter. It looks fine except for some minor damage, signs and trees batted around.

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4 pm: The center of Gustav is now passing over Lafayette. We have called it a day and decided to pack it back to our hotel. The winds are gusting to 90 mph and the rain is so hard that staying dry is a lost cause. I walked about a city block from our live location at the First Baptist Church to our hotel in downtown Lafayette. It was nearly impossible to make it across a large parking lot to the back of our hotel.

The wind was pushing me backwards and the rain was so hard I could barely see. The footprint of Gustav is already starting to show in the city with limbs down, exploding transformers and flooding streets. A few hotel guests were standing under an overhang as I arrived to the back door of our hotel. We watched as a tree started to fall across the street, taking out power lines.

Our last block of live shots this afternoon looked pretty good. We decided to perch our reporter, Jonathan Serrie on one of the churches second floor wrap around balcony. It was a good vantage point for us to show Fox viewers across the country how the fierce winds and rain were picking up as the day progressed. It was a tough day for the crew. Most of them working since 2:30 am. It will also be a long night. Hurricane Gustav is a Category 1 hurricane and has slowed down as he passes over

Central Louisiana. Forecasters say this area will see the worst of the storm throughout the evening and into the night. We are hoping not to lose power so we can monitor the storms progress. But the lights are cutting out for brief periods every few minutes. We are equipped though. We have enough supplies and food to make it through five days.

11am: It’s just after 11 am in Lafayette, Louisiana. The winds are now starting to pick up and we are seeing a little rain, but nothing serious yet. Although most of the media attention is focused on New Orleans, the eye of the storm is actually expected to pass over Central Louisiana near Houma, Lafayette and Lake Charles sometime this afternoon.

Right now forecasters are expecting winds over 100 miles per hour and fierce rains. We are doing live shots at the First Baptist Church downtown. We found a pretty good spot in an alcove next to the sanctuary that would protect our truck and crew from the wind and rain when things got a little more intense. We didn’t know until this morning, but the church actually is providing shelter to several people who did not feel safe to ride out the storm in their homes. Many of them have come out of the shelter to watch us work and ask us about the latest details.

Our job is to provide reports to the nationwide audience tuned into Fox News Channel and custom live shots for Fox Affiliates all over the country through our Fox News Edge affiliate service. Fox News Correspondent Jonathan Serrie has been talking to morning show anchors in places like Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, St. Louis, Seattle and Phoenix. It’s a break-neck pace as we wrap up one live shot and immediately move on to the next station waiting. Bathroom breaks are few and far between for Serrie, Photographer John Bullard, Producer Dan Gallo and Engineer Jeff Burton.

The streets of Lafayette are nearly empty. Most here are already hunkered down in shelters or their homes, some have left town for safer places to the north and west. Some residents decided to stay home and take the day in stride. I just watched a man taking his dogs for a morning walk down Jefferson Street. Lafayette Parish (similar to a county in most of the US) has issued a voluntary evacuation for most of the area. Although they feel that this city, which is about 35 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico will be relatively safe, officials will always tell you it’s best to err on the side of caution and leave. The storm will immediately begin to weaken as it hits land and moves across the marshes that line the southern part of the state. Still, we are bracing for flooding rains, intense winds and the threat of tornadoes.

As the day moves forward we will keep our eyes on the storm and take shelter if it gets too dangerous. We are pretty confident that things will go fine for our crew. We were fortunate enough to find The Hotel Juliet in downtown Lafayette. It’s a boutique hotel and appears to be sturdy enough to protect us should conditions become serious. More to come as our day in Lafayette gets more interesting.

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1:30 p.m. : Many times circumstances of being in the field requires a bit of Macgyver to keep us on the air… and it always seems to happen when the weather is at it’s worse. The dish is controlled by electric motors that pan and tilt the dish (antenna) for tuning onto the satellite.

My motors decided to evacuate. For any of you you who have ever tried tuning your own DirecTv receiver you’ll understand how “interesting” it can be to try to locate the satellite. Try it with a dish that weighs acoupla hundred pounds… while winds are blowing and gusting 30 to 40 mph around you! Mother being the necessity of invention, there’s a new baby tool in the world today! Vice grips inventor is a proud papa.

As far as the storm goes, as of 1pm Eastern we are still awaiting the major brunt of the storms punch in the Lafayette area. Off and on rains are laying the wet carpet for Gustav’s imminent arrival.

The kind folks here at the First Baptist Church of Lafayette have shown us that Louisiana hospitality that makes this area a great place to visit… more so when the party is for something other than a hurricane!

Go Tigers!

4:37 a.m. : Correspondent Jonathan Serrie and I have covered quite a few hurricanes together, even dating back to our pre-Fox days. There’s a certain comfort level going into a storm like this with a “seasoned veteran” like Jonathan. Makes my job, and life, much easier.

My focus is to get my truck in as safe of a location as possible to allow me to keep Jonathan on the air as long as possible. What I and all the truck operators look for is protection for the dish (antenna). This trip I found what I hope to be safe harbor in a courtyard area of the First Baptist Church in Lafayettte, LA. Protection on three sides from high winds that could easily rip the dish off the truck and send it flying like an over sized Frisbee. High sided brick buildings with an exposure to the southern sky for access to the satellite are the key to keeping the dish protected. Once the storm hits I can keep the dish deployed in constant 45 mph winds. The game plan in placing the truck where it is…. the winds howl past the truck, blocked by the building and we stay on the air bringing you the latest information on deteriorating conditions.

So, the truck is in place, the cables are laid out and wrapped and protected as best as possible, and until the conditions just get too unsafe and the cloud cover too thick to punch a signal through- we’ll be here! We’ll be in the rain and wind telling folks not to go out into the rain and wind! Jeff Burton, Fox News Channel Atlanta based Field Tech.

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We have packed up, the gear secured and are on our way to Hurricane Gustav. This will be number 6 for me and my second with Fox LA photographer Keith Railey. Our producer Jennifer Girdon gets her first shot and she seems ready, a bit nervous, but ready.

Over the course of the next few days I will update this blog, try to respond and post behind the scenes pictures and video. I will also be providing a live stream starting Saturday morning as I head to the airport. When you click on the link, if I am not live streaming, you can click on archived feeds from throughout the day.

UPDATE # 5  (Monday)

The video comes from the Civic Center here in Lake Charles as several thousand took busses to areas of the north state. They may escape the wind and tidal surge, but they wont miss the rain, if Hurricane Gustav Cuts across the state and stalls here, as some models show, we could get as much as 24″ of rain in a very short time. While the swamp land in these parts can handle large amounts of water, that kind of rainfall would cause serious damage and flooding to much of the state. Our location this morning is on top of a parking garage and I can see the sky in all directions. The oil refineries have shut down, the flickering candles of from the stacks have mostly been put out. The port also remains quiet, the only sounds from the many ships and tugs is the clanking of boats tossing a bit as the wind kicks up. We haven’t yet gotten the rain, but we can feel these first winds and we know the storm has come close.

UPDATE #4

We’ve been here before, not just sitting in a hotel waiting for a hurricane….but this actual spot in Lake Charles. It doesn’t seem like 3 years ago, but it’s been almost exactly 3 years since we found refuge at a hotel in this distinctly bayou part of the country. As we drive along the waterfront of the lake, the southern homes with their verandas, ivy, large front yards, are all empty. The evacuation here much different than during Hurricane Rita back then. This time throughout Lake Charles, businesses are boarded up, storm shutters are closed and locked, the streets are empty, the town deserted. At 6 a.m. this morning, City of Lake Charles Transit began their hailing system, which takes people, at no charge, to the Lake Charles Civic Center for evacuation. More than 1,500 hitched a ride too areas in the northern part of the state. People were allowed to bring only carry-on luggage and I am told there were some shelters and transportation for pets as well. The curfew begins here at 8pm and will be enforced until 6am. As I look out the window several stories up, the sky envelopes the are in an orange glow. A beautiful sight soon to be replaced.

UPDATE #3

We are on the move again. As we all suspected last night, the hurricane seems destined to strike in the western part of Louisiana, so we are headed on I-10 across the border and into areas where I spent Hurricane Rita and Lili. We’ve got to stop and fill up with gas and fill our gas cans for the roof and then we are on the road. I will have live feeds throughout the day and you can watch them archived as well. This looks to be a tough one…Gustav. We all hope the storm does what Lili did and weaken dramatically as it approaches the coast.

This picture is of the 610 bridge over Lake Charles.

UPDATE #2

The flight and arrival into Houston was about normal for a Saturday afternoon/evening at the end of summer. Traffic on the 45 ran smoothly, the city seemed less worried than what we’ve heard about. People at stores talked about the hurricane, most had already boarded up, but there were few plans to evacuate since the track still seems aimed at central Louisiana. Several spoke about the traffic nightmare as people fled for hurricane Rita. It doesn’t seem like three years ago, but Rita did cut a path of destruction through parts of the Texas border and of course through Louisiana cities like Lake Charles, Lafayette and Abbeville. We spent nearly a week for that storm, riding it out in Winnie, Texas. We are prepared again. First when we arrived we left Jen with the bags on the curb, while Keith and I grabbed two SUV’s. I have learned that you need two vehicles, especially since I have changed four flats in hurricanes past. The SUV’s loaded, we headed out of Bush International and made a pit stop for gear and food. I will show that tomorrow morning in the live streaming video feed, so stay tuned. More write ups to come also. Time to get some sleep while we still can.

UPDATE #1

SO…how do we get ready for a hurricane. Well, I’ll have Keith and Jen give me their thoughts and I’ll post them here later. In the meantime, when you’ve been to (and I am not the only one) hurricanes Rita, Ivan, Frances, Lili and Katrina, you get an idea of what you might need. First I pack two bags to check. One bag has all my rain and weather gear. I call it the blue bag and it has waders, two sets of rain gear, a wind meter, med kit, towels, plastic bags for wet gear, hat, bug spray sun lotion, flip flops, flashlights and some tools. In my other bag goes my clothes and personal items. Got to keep them all separate. More to come.

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People can drop off their pets to also be evacuated.

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12:15 p.m. I often think cab drivers have the best perspective on what’s going on in a city. On my drive from the airport in New Orleans to our hotel downtown, I got a chance to talk with Clarence “Buddy” Unger. Buddy’s about 60 and lives with his wife in Metarie, just outside New Orleans.

His daughter already evacuated to Mississippi and he’s asked his wife to do the same. She won’t leave him. He told his daughter if she keeps calling to ask him to leave, he’ll stop answering the phone. I ask him how many storms he’s been through.

He says, “All of them.” Except Katrina. He gave in then, left to Baton Rouge, and was miserable. “Never again,” he says. His house didn’t have much damage from Katrina- just a few roof tiles gone. On his street, Buddy’s been checking in with neighbors and at first many of them were staying, now he doesn’t know. A lot of them are changing their minds and getting out. He says he’ll keep an eye on their property. So much so that he’s asked neighbors to have their friends and relatives check in with him if they come by their house. Buddy’s armed. He says two or three shops have run out of ammo.

We cruise on back streets to get to the city. The main highways are now in “contraflow” mode, meaning both directions lead out of the city. Flying in, I saw one of the main arteries through town. One side looked like it was moving, if slowly. The other, contraflow, side was cruising and had much less traffic.

Driving through town, it seemed like almost every other corner corner had police or National Guard units stationed on it. We also passed by the Amtrak/Greyhound station where residents and tourists were making their way out. A couple blocks away, we saw a group of three people carting their luggage. The airport where I arrived was also packed, but all the restaurants and shops were closed. People were just waiting to get out. The airport closes at 6pm tonight.

Buddy dropped me off at the hotel downtown and I asked for his number so I can check in. He looked at me like I’d lost my mind but gave it to me anyway. I shook his hand and wished him good luck.

7:25 a.m. Most of our crew is already in place. I am a lone straggler and it has been interesting just trying to get to New Orleans. My flight last night was cancelled and moved to early this morning. There are six people on a plane that could carry 130. The flight is running a little late. The pilot says they are adding extra fuel- there is none to be had in New Orleans so they need enough to get there and back.

It is a strange thing to be headed someplace that everyone is trying to escape. I am still not quite sure how I will get from the airport to downtown New Orleans where the rest of the crew is, but I figured at least if I am in the vicinty, I can go from there. On and off camera, we have dozens of people covering the storm, spread across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. An RV with extra supplies for us is also headed to the area.

Mayor Nagin ordered a manadatory evacuation last night, saying Gustav could be worse than Katrina. Hotels are all closing and everyone is urged to get out. The West Bank is expected to see the worst of it. The levees are back up to pre-Katrina levels but not to 100 year storm standards. Landfall is sometime tomorrow.

Jonathon Serrie is also covering the hurricane. He and I are doing updates on Twitter. Sometimes once phone and email goes out, you can still text.

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