McChord AFB suffers minimal damage from quake

McCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. (USTCNS) --- A moderately strong earthquake hit the Pacific Northwest around mid day Wednesday, rocking high-rise buildings and infrastructure from Seattle to Portland.

The magnitude of the quake was estimated as high as 7.0 on the Richter Scale by some sources. The epicenter is estimated to be 11 miles northeast of the capital city of Olympia, approximately 15 miles south of McChord.

Officials from the 62nd Airlift Wing, McChord's host unit, began assessing damage around the base immediately after the quake, which hit about 10:55 a.m. Initial estimates were that the base suffered minimal damage - a few power outages were reported in the base housing areas. There were no injuries reported on the base.

Operationally, no aircraft were damaged in the quake, and by noon, airfield operations had resumed normal scheduled activities.

Maj. Bill Barksdale, chief of Public Affairs for the 62nd AW, said more information regarding the earthquake will be sent out as it becomes available.

"Our primary concern is that our people - Air Force people, their families and our civilian employees - are safe and sound, and that initially appears to be the case," he said. "We also have structural experts from our 62nd Civil Engineer Squadron canvassing the base to ensure our facilities are in check. It will be some time before the base can make an accurate assessment of all of the buildings on base, but initial estimates appear that we're all right in that regard, too." (FROM AIR MOBILITY COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).