Dozens of first responders from Colorado deployed to Louisiana to aid in the state’s response to Hurricane Ida, which made landfall midday Sunday.

Forty-five Colorado firefighters from 14 agencies were deployed with Colorado Task Force 1, one of the 12 Federal Emergency Management Agency’s urban search-and-rescue teams responding to the hurricane, the agency said Sunday. 

The Colorado Task Force has responded to several disasters, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Colorado floods in 2013 and Ground Zero after 9/11, the agency said.

The group is trained to carry out “water and wide-area search and rescue” and will be strategically located to assist local agencies, the West Metro Fire Rescue said. They arrived in Lafayette, Louisiana, after driving 26 hours Saturday.

“We know it’s going to be a tough one for sure,” said Lt. Aaron McConnellogue, a Colorado Springs firefighter and rescue team manager. “But we’re just getting ready for whatever they throw at us.”

Twelve volunteers from the American Red Cross of Colorado and Wyoming have also left for the Gulf Coast to provide emotional support, health resources and recovery service to those affected by Hurricane Ida, the Red Cross said Sunday.

Of the 12 volunteers, 11 are from the Western Colorado, Southern Colorado and Mile High chapters of the Red Cross.

On average, the Colorado Task Force 1 and Red Cross volunteers are deployed for between 14 and 21 days, depending on the amount of assistance needed by local agencies. It is not yet known when the Coloradans will return home.

Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm, hit the coast near Port Fourchon on Sunday at 11:55 a.m. CDT, carrying maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Ida was downgraded to a tropical storm Monday morning as it moved toward Mississippi, 16 hours after it made landfall in Louisiana.

More than 1 million people have been left without power because of the storm and at least one person has died, according to the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office. An unknown amount of people are stranded on rooftops because of flooding.