NEW ORLEANS — What will unfold in the coming days doesn't have much of a precedent.
There are so many factors in the operation to recover the bodies of the missing workers from the construction site of the partially collapsed Hard Rock Hotel that even the officials in charge of the operation aren't entirely sure how things will play out over the next few days and weeks.
Whatever must be done to stabilize the remnants of the building has to be done carefully and methodically, but also quickly.
"I will tell you we're on a very short time to get a lot done," said New Orleans Fire Chief Tim McConnell.
For the sake of the families, crews want to recover the bodies of the two missing workers as soon as possible. For that to happen, the site -- specifically two cranes -- must be secured. With a tropical development in the gulf that may impact the metro area in a matter of days, a fragile operation is now an urgent one.
"The right people are here, but it's complicated, and it's complicated even more with what I'm saying about the weather,” said Collin Arnold, the director of Homeland Security for the city of New Orleans.
Among the “right people” Arnold mentioned are two engineers who've both had experience at the World Trade Center after 9/11. One also worked at the site of the Oklahoma City bombing. Even with that experience, there are elements here in New Orleans that present unique challenges.
"They've done a lot of stuff. They haven't done one in the French Quarter in New Orleans,” McConnell said. “We have a lot of underground drainage here you wouldn't find any other place and so all those things are a part of what factors into this. We've complicated it for them, unfortunately, but have full faith they will do it properly.”
They'll have to do it properly to avoid hurting anyone and damaging historic buildings like the Saenger Theater. New Orleans is often celebrated for offering many things other cities don't. In this situation, that could be a setback.