In an outrageous repeat of Katrina, the federal government has moved into wildfire-stricken Texas and turned away firefighting trained volunteers who had converged on Bastrop and Smithville to combat the out of control flames.

According to The Gonzales Cannon, federal officials arrived at the scene and assumed command of the operation under the pretense “local officials never made a formal request for volunteers.”

Jennifer Jones, a spokesperson with the U.S. National Interagency Incident Center, confirmed that a federal group comprised of several agencies would be assuming command in Bastrop County.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, FEMA refused to allow volunteer firefighters from around the nation, as well as trucks loaded with donated water, from entering New Orleans as troops, police, and mercenaries went house-to-house confiscating weapons.

Officials in Louisiana accused FEMA of making the situation worse with red tape and a hesitant response immediately after Katrina blasted into the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, the Los Angeles Times reported on September 5, 2005.