Patrick, Cape Canaveral get ‘all clear’

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PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) --  The 45th Space Wing commander has given the "all clear" order for here and nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This allows members of the work force, families living in military family housing and Airmen living in base dormitories to return.

Base people evacuated Sept. 2 to escape the path of Hurricane Frances. The first people to return were members of the wing's hurricane recovery team.

That team is made up primarily of Airmen from the 45th Civil Engineer Squadron and 45th Security Forces Squadron. They secured the base and began assessing damage and repairing or removing debris from critical infrastructure such as the base runway.

After the team’s arrival, mission essential people returned to the installations and recovery efforts began in earnest.

Although the "all clear" order was given Sept. 7, officials said the general work force should not report to work until Sept. 9 because debris removal and damage assessment is ongoing.

Power, running water and communications are available at both installations, and the airfields here and at Cape Canaveral are operational, officials said.

"We still have (a lot) of work to do in terms of cleaning up and assessing damage, but it's very important to me that our families and Airmen be able to return home today. We've gotten it to the point where returning is reasonably safe," said Col. Mark Owen, 45th SW commander.

The colonel stressed that returning Airmen and families should not immediately expect the regular level of services they had before the hurricane.

"I do not expect places such as the base clinic and pharmacy, and many of our services facilities, to open any earlier than (Sept. 10)," he said.

Officials said preliminary damage assessments indicate widespread structural damage, ranging from severe to minor. Most of the visible damage consists of problems such as blown-down signs, uprooted trees, water intrusion into buildings and wind-damaged roofs.

Some extensive damage included a facility used to wash aircraft and a welding shop that were demolished here. At Cape Canaveral, a hangar door was blown off the Delta (rocket) maintenance and checkout facility.

The three space-launch vehicles stacked on their pads at Cape Canaveral got through the storm in tact because they were secured inside their mobile-service towers, officials said.

Radars, optics and telemetry equipment used to track and monitor vehicles after they have been launched also appear to have weathered the storm in good shape, officials said.

No dollar amounts in terms of how much it will cost to fix damaged structures have been determined, but Colonel Owen said he believes the repair costs could run into the millions.