SAN DIEGO (KGTV)— Three members of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department’s Urban Search and Rescue California Task Force 8 are in the hospital in Louisiana after getting into a crash while responding to Hurricane Helene relief efforts.

Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeast, leaving behind unimaginable death and destruction from Florida to North Carolina. Monday, President Biden addressed the tragedy and the firefighters severely injured in a crash on their way to help.

“They were in a terrible car accident in Louisiana. We pray for their full recovery, but it was a bad accident,” said the president.

The accident happened just before three am Sunday in a remote area near the Texas Louisiana Border. Three San Diego Fire-Rescue Department crew members were seriously injured. They include a battalion chief and two captains. They were in a Ford 350 that was involved in a crash with an 18-wheeler. It’s unclear what caused the crash. The victims were airlifted to Louisiana State University in Shreveport.

Back in San Diego, the non-profit Firefighter Aid is ready to help.

“It’s hard on the department. The firefighters are very close. Their department is very close. They are with each other everyday and have each other’s back, so when one bad thing happens to somebody, they feel it throughout,” said Sara Berns, Executive Director of Firefighter Aid.

ABC 10News was there Friday evening when members of California Task Force 8 loaded up into eighteen vehicles and headed east for North Carolina. The type III Water Rescue team includes thirty-two firefighters from San Diego’s Fire Rescue and firefighters from departments across the county.

Batallion Chief Aide Barbat talked about their past experience right before they left Friday evening.

“The team has deployed to many hurricanes. Katrina was probably the biggest even after that multiple hurricanes,” said Chief Barbat.

The task force has helped with search and rescue efforts during disasters as far back as Sept. 11. This is the first time members have been involved in a serious accident. The department has not released their names.

We are four weeks into the 2024 Louisiana high school football season and High School on SI is rolling out its updated computer rankings for the best teams in the state.

SBLive’s formula was created using its own linear algebra-based ranking algorithm inspired by the Colley Bias-Free Ranking Method. Colley’s Method was created by Wes Colley, Ph.D., an astrophysicist at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He devised his algorithm in order to help address the subjectivity and controversy regarding BCS college football selections in the 1990s and early 2000s, using a method that used no subjective variables.

Which teams took the top spot in each LHSAA classification this week? Here are SBLive’s latest Louisiana high school football computer rankings, as of September 30, 2024:

LOUISIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COMPUTER RANKINGS

LHSAA CLASS 5A | LHSAA CLASS 4A

LHSAA CLASS 3A | LHSAA CLASS 2A

LHSAA CLASS 1A

INDEPENDENT/PROBATION

To get live updates on your phone – as well as follow your favorite teams and top games – you can download the SBLive Sports app:

Download iPhone App | Download Android App

SBLIVE SPORTS LAUNCHES HIGH SCHOOL ON SI

High School On SI will serve as the premier destination for high school sports fans, delivering unparalleled coverage of high school athletics nationwide through in-depth stories, recruiting coverage, rankings, highlights and much more. The launch of a dedicated high school experience expands Sports Illustrated’s reach to even more local communities as fans can now truly follow athletes from “preps to the pros” on a single platform, bringing them closer to the action than ever before.

For more information, visit si.com/high-school.

Nexus Louisiana is partnering with Black Ambition, the initiative founded by Pharrell Williams for its 2024 BizTech Challenge.

The collaboration aims to amplify the competition’s impact. The BizTech Challenge, now in its ninth year, was designed to increase innovation and entrepreneurship in STEM-based fields among students attending historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

As part of the partnership, Black Ambition will provide business mentors for participants throughout the competition and provide a judge for the final-round live pitch competition.

The organization will also offer priority access for up to 10 competition participants into its 2025 HBCU Pre-Accelerator Program, which culminates in a $200,000 virtual pitch competition.

“Black Ambition is dedicated to removing barriers and creating equitable pathways to success for underrepresented entrepreneurs, especially HBCU students and recent alums,” Felecia Hatcher, CEO of Black Ambition, said in a statement. “The BizTech Challenge provides a tremendous opportunity for the next generation of HBCU innovators to showcase their brilliance, and we’re excited to support their journey in partnership with Nexus Louisiana.” 

Hatcher was one of the keynote speakers at NexusLA’s BREW event in May.

The BizTech Challenge will take place during the Bayou Classic weekend on Nov. 29 at the Westin New Orleans. 

Since its inception in 2020, Black Ambition has trained approximately 1,000 founders and awarded nearly $10 million in growth capital to 101 founders.