60th Air Mobility Wing Commander Col. Corey A. Simmons gave non-essential Airmen and their families the all-clear to return to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., as of 10 a.m. PDT on Aug. 21, following a wildfire-induced evacuation on Aug. 19.
Simmons issued the order as a preventative measure amid the LNU Lightning Complex Fire, which purportedly got within 2 miles of the base in recent days, as similar evacuations were underway in nearby communities, Air Force Magazine previously reported.
“Base housing and dorm residents may return to base immediately after 10 a.m.,” the base wrote in an Aug. 21 Facebook post. “Westwind Inn guests with existing reservations, who had to evacuate the inn, may also return to lodging. Those returning to base should use the Main, North, and Hospital Gates to re-enter the base.”
Further, it noted, non-mission-essential Airmen aren’t required to go right back to work, since the base wanted to give families impacted by the evacuation enough time to head home safely, the post said. The base also shuttered most services to make evacuees’ return to base easier, it noted.
“However, the gas station and Monarch Dining facility are open,” it noted.
While Travis is still in mission-essential mode, the post advised Airmen to check in with their chains of command to figure out their duty status, as well as to find out how to get lodging or per diem costs reimbursed if they were forced to evacuate from their homes.
The wing also expects the C-5s, C-17s, and KC-10 aircraft it sent out of state as a precaution to be back on base within “the next few days,” according to the post.
As of the morning of Aug. 21, the fire hadn’t damaged the base or any Defense Department assets, the post said.
“Fires remain a local threat to some areas outside the base perimeter,” it noted.