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Airmen aid in Okuma cleanup

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jason Lake
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
OKUMA, Japan --  For most Kadena residents, Typhoon Kompasu was a dud. But for Capt. Adam Vacarezza and his staff at Okuma Recreation Facility, the typhoon was more than just a few wind gusts and hard rain.

Kadena weather forecasters estimate the storm's wind speeds reached more than 100 knots (115 mph) snapping hundreds of trees in half as it passed over the resort Tuesday. Captain Vacarezza and his staff were forced to dig-in while the storm pounded the resort and knocked out power throughout the area.

"It sounded like a freight train came through," explained Captain Vacarezza. "When we first went outside after the storm, we were surprised how much debris there was."

After an initial walk-around, the captain was relieved to find no major damage other than a life guard shack in shambles, lack of power and thousands of tree limbs and uprooted tree trunks littering the grounds.

More than 20 "Dirt Boys" and their construction equipment were dispatched from the 18th Civil Engineer Squadron to restore power to the resort and remove tree limbs from the roads, but more manpower was desperately needed.

"Our dirt boys cleared out the roads [Wednesday] so we could get access throughout the resort," explained Master Sgt. Chris Lebourveau, 18th CES infrastructure superintendent.
That's when base leadership solicited the help of more than 100 volunteer Airmen.
Senior Airman Aisha Burr who typically mans the traffic management office's service counter volunteered to help with the recovery effort.

"I volunteered because I thought it would be an awesome experience to come help the community," she said. "I'm usually behind a desk, so this is much different than what I'm used to."

Staff Sgt. Rachel Dalaig from the 18th Medical Operations Squadron was also among the hundred volunteers to help remove debris. Although this was Sergeant Dalaig's first typhoon, this was not her first storm. In the six years of her Air Force career, she has been through four tropical cyclones - three while serving at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.

"The last [hurricane] at MacDill was worse than this with a lot of downed trees and flooding," she explained while pulling dozens of tree limbs off Okuma's miniature golf course. "That's what I get for living in hot places. With heat and humidity comes bad weather."

After day one of the cleanup effort, Captain Vacarezza said he was impressed with the progress made, but much more recovery work remains to be done.

"I've never seen this many people work together in one area," he said. "This is great."

Wing leadership solicited a second wave of volunteers Thursday, about half the size of the previous group. Captain Vacarezza said it will take at least a week before the resort is ready to open for business, but that's not considering the next typhoon already brewing off of Guam.