SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Emergency response and reconstruction teams from the Sacramento area were preparing to assist in the Gulf Coast in anticipation of Hurricane Gustav.

Video: Calif. Rescue Crews Head To Gulf

The Sacramento Fire Department's Swift Water Rescue Team started driving to the Gulf Coast on Sunday to be deployed wherever it is needed, Capt. Jim Doucette said in a news release.

The Sacramento Fire Department also had crews deployed to the Gulf Region during Hurricane Katrina.

BloodSource, a blood services organization in Central and Northern California, was pooling resources from its facilities to help collect blood and manage inventory in the Gulf Region if needed, officials said.

McClellan Field in Sacramento County will serve as a launch pad for the Coast Guard and California National Guard during deployments to the Gulf region.

Two planes and more than a dozen Sacramento-based Coast Guard crewmen are currently on emergency standby.

"That's a very big storm," said Lt. Scott Murphy of the U.S. Coast Guard. "It can obviously create a lot of destruction."

Crews at the National Guard Joint Operations Center have already sent rescue crews to Louisiana, Col. David Baldwin said.

Murphy said that within 5 hours some aircraft from California can be in the Gulf region to deliver supplies and perform rescues in the worst of weather.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that California understands the potential for tragedy from natural disasters and that it is ready to help.

"Our thoughts are with the evacuees, first responders and emergency personnel, and all those affected by Gustav - that they remain safe as this storm passes," Schwarzenegger said in a news release Monday.