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.

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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!

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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.

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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. Keep Reading …