A team of firefighters that was scheduled to travel to Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands on Thursday morning in advance of Hurricane Omar making landfall was demobilized when the hurricane changed course.
A 34-person team, made up of firefighters from all over Hampton Roads, was scheduled to leave about 6:15 Thursday morning but was demobilized about 1 p.m., said Virginia Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Dave Hutcheson.
Virginia Task Force 2 search and rescue had traveled across parts of Louisiana and east Texas in the aftermath of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
On Wednesday night, the Category 2 hurricane had been moving quickly toward the Virgin Islands and Northern Leeward Islands, according to an advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
As of 5 p.m. Thursday, Hurricane Omar was rapidly moving into the open central Atlantic Ocean after delivering a glancing blow to the Virgin Islands.
By 11 p.m., Omar was downgraded to a tropical storm, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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