Town hall meeting prepares Eielson community for Alaskan Winter

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Lauren-Taylor Levin
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Eielson housing residents attended a town hall meeting Nov. 6 at the base theater and received information needed in the event of heat or power loss this winter.

Col. Larry Rice, 354th Mission Support Group commander, briefed attendees on recommended actions in the event of short-term heat or power loss and discussed Eielson's winter evacuation plan should Eielson experience long-term outages.

"The power plant is our primary source for heat and power during the winter and even though we have very dedicated workers that keep it operational, it is a 60-year-old piece of machinery at heart and there's always the opportunity for mechanical failures," said Rice. "We also have to prepare for the eventuality if the heat and power went off during negative 40 degree temperatures that Eielson should have an evacuation plan. "

During the meeting, Rice discussed helpful tips on how to preserve heat in an on-base home for a short period if heat were unavailable, such as limiting opening and closing exterior doors, ensuring exterior doors and windows are closed tightly, and placing towels or blankets at the base of doors to prevent drafts.

If electric power is available, you can use electric space heaters and electric blankets, disconnect all other electrical devices such as the refrigerator and turn off other lights. Your front porch light should be left on, indicating you are in the home in the event of a base evacuation.

Earlier this year, military personnel were given a noncombatant evacuation option packet which is used as an accountability tool to keep track of all the base residents. In the event of an evacuation, those forms will be used to determine the evacuation needs of each family.

During an evacuation, the Baker Field House would hold a processing line offering information from medical, the Airman & Family Readiness Center, finance, lodging, pet care and much more.

Rice emphasized the importance of patience during an evacuation and encouraged families to plan ahead by having an evacuation kit ready during the winter or even during the summer when forest fires may pose a threat.

Certain aspects of Eielson's artic survival evacuation plan were tested during September's operational readiness exercise and is in the final planning stages.

"I know if I lived on base, I would feel a little more secure about the situation," said Howard Rixie, 354th Force Support Squadron manpower personnel flight chief. "We are in an arctic desert and negative 50 degrees is a dangerous temperature, so it's good to be prepared."

Rixie stressed that planning accordingly, controlling our environment and being conscious of our environment is absolutely essential.

At the end of the town hall, key evacuation information pamphlets were available, containing a list of suggested emergency evacuation kit items. The list will be distributed through Key Spouse network and to military personnel in the next couple of weeks.