CHINA LAKE, Calif. — Utilities have been restored at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, including water services for the base's main fire houses, according to base officials.
The base suffered damage in last week's back-to-back earthquakes -- first, a 6.4-magnitude quake on July 4, then, a 7.1 on July 5.
NAWSCL Public Works department, along with the base's Emergency Operating Center, has prioritized restoration of the base's utilities. That includes bringing water and power back to emergency services such as the fire department, police station and base administration buildings.
"We started restoring things to housing and now we're starting to look at making sure we can get power and connectivity back to our mission critical buildings so we can resume normal operations," said Ensign Andrew Quan, EOC production officer.
On Wednesday, July 10, the Air Test and Squadron Nine (VX-9) assigned to the base resumed normal flight operations, just six days after the first quake.
Also on Wednesday, Bakersfield Congressman and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy introduced an amendment to fast track efforts to repair military bases affected by last week's string of earthquakes, including NAWSCL.
