BATON ROUGE — As Hurricane Milton prepares to make landfall in south Florida, capital area first responders on Monday began mobilizing to assist in recovery efforts for the recently declared Category 5 storm. 

Firefighters from the Baton Rouge, West Feliciana and East Side fire departments, as well as the Louisiana State Fire Marshal's Office and East Baton Rouge Parish EMS, are being deployed to Live Oak, Florida ahead of Milton, which is set to make landfall Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.

"These members are highly skilled in structural collapse, swift water rescue, wide-area search, and so much more," the Baton Rouge Fire Department said in a Facebook post.

The Hammond Fire Department is also sending units to Orlando to assist in recovery efforts, officials said on Facebook.

The Sorrento Volunteer Fire Department is sending units to Tennessee and North Carolina to assist in the active recovery for Hurricane Helene, which struck multiple Appalachian communities last week.

"Thank you to everyone who has donated so far and wished us safe travels. We had slight trouble leaving but we made it passed that and are good," officials with the SVFD said.