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Alaska Airlines Launching Rescue Flights To Mexico

Alaska Airlines

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines is dispatching jets Thursday to evacuate American vacationers from Los Cabos, Mexico.

Baja California is still reeling from the direct hit by Hurricane Odile at the beginning of this week.

Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Halley Knigge said the heavily-damaged Los Cabos Airport is closed to commercial traffic. But rescue and relief flights have been permitted to land.

"What I have heard is that there are many people waiting at the airport hoping to get a ride on one of the flights out,” she said. “We are planning to operate six relief flights out of Los Cabos today. Those six flights will be filled with customers that are put on on a first come, first served basis."

Knigge said the southbound flights to Los Cabos are being loaded with water, food and relief supplies.

Residents and tourists in the Mexican resort area are reporting via social media today that water and power remains shut off and that people are looting stores to get food.

Now semi-retired, Tom Banse covered national news, business, science, public policy, Olympic sports and human interest stories from across the Northwest. He reported from well known and out–of–the–way places in the region where important, amusing, touching, or outrageous events unfolded. Tom's stories can be found online and were heard on-air during "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" on NPR stations in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.