Tag Archives: pets

U.S. Army preps for “austere environments” using “phantom” dogs!

24 October 2022 (12:46-UTC-07 Tango 06) 02 Aban 1401/28 Rabi ‘al-Awwal 1444/29 Geng-Xu 4720/24 октября 2022 года

U.S. Army photo, 29SEP2022.

At the end of September, 2022, U.S. Army’s (USA) Medical Materiel Development Activity (USA-MMDA)-Medical Test and Evaluation Activity-Medical Logistics Command-72nd Medical Veterinary Service Support Detachment (whew, is that enough titles?) tested some new experimental medical devices on a couple of dogs.  The new equipment was developed for what the USA is preparing for; military operations in “austere environments”, I assume that means combat/disaster areas where all basic infrastructure has been wiped out.

USA photo, 29SEP2022.

Don’t worry, the so called dogs used in the testing are not real, they are themselves mechanical training devices These fake-news dogs were developed, along with fake-news children, to specifically test a new experimental, and revolutionary, X-ray device.  The fake dogs and children are officially called manikins, or more ominously “simulator phantoms”.

Small emaciated looking phantom dog gets x-rayed using a tablet device. USA photo, 29SEP2022.

They were testing an experimental medical device which looks like something you would see the future doctors of Star Trek using; a large tablet looking device called the Vet X-ray Apparatus-Small.

The x-ray tablet sends the image to your laptop or smart-phone. USA photo, 29SEP2022.

The testing was done on Fort Campbell, Kentucky.  Apparently, the next phase for the x-ray tablet involves testing on those manikin Phantom Children.

U.S. Disaster 2022: SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS AFTER IAN RAVAGES FLORIDA, PEOPLE & PETS!

Biden’s Borderland: BOAT PEOPLE NOW BRINGING THEIR PETS?

Drugs, the American Way:  EVEN PETS ARE GETTING UNINTENTIONALLY HIGH, DON’T EAT THE FISH!

Delta Pandemic: BLAME SOUTH EAST ASIAN BATS? MONEY TO BE MADE OFF OBESE INFECTED PETS!

2019: NEW JERSEY NATIONAL GUARD SAVING PETS IN QATAR!

U.S. Wildfire 2018: WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR PETS AFTER PARADISE IS DESTROYED BY THE FIRES OF HELL?

Hurricane Maria, 2017: FREE SHOTS FOR PUERTO RICO PETS!

Hurricane Harvey, 2017: WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR PETS?

U.S. Medical & Food Disaster: This is not a drill! Military drug dealers take over local high schools?

New Mexico Air National Guard photo by Airman First Class Lauren McMullen.

On 07JUL2021, active duty military, and National Guard medical personnel from across the United States, took over Greenville High School, in Mississippi.

New Mexico ANG photo by Airman First Class Lauren McMullen.

New Mexico ANG photo by Airman First Class Lauren McMullen.

Operations involving food service, dentistry, ambulance service, optometry, psychiatric care, and even drug distribution (pharmacy) were carried out as part of Delta Wellness Mission 2021.  Greenville High School was one of three locations used for the Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) operation.

New Mexico ANG photo by Airman First Class Lauren McMullen.

The military uses IRTs as one way to train for disaster response, but Delta Wellness Mission 2021 is not a drill or training exercise, it is a continuation, under a new name, of a program started under the Obama Administration to provide free healthcare and food service to local residents.

New Mexico ANG photo by Airman First Class Lauren McMullen.

The taxpayer funded military medical service for silly-vilians program was started in 2014 (OPERATION APPALACHIAN CARE; PROOF OBAMACARE-ACA FAILED, AND OBAMA KNEW IT DID!).

New Mexico ANG photo by Airman First Class Lauren McMullen.

Greenville High School was not the only school to be taken over under Delta Wellness Mission 2021.

New Mexico ANG photo Senior Master Sergeant Daniel Butterfield.

The General Trass High School, Arkansas, was taken over on 05JUL2021.

Air Force Reserve video report; 24JUN2021 East Central Georgia Medical IRT mission, which included Burke County High School:

Army Reserve promo video; medical personnel from Ohio deployed to Knox and Clay County, Kentucky, to provide free services to humans and animals, 20JUN2021.  The ‘Coal Country’ IRT was requested by local county officials:

South Carolina ANG photo by Lieutenant Colonel Jim Saint Clair.

The South Carolina National Guard deployed for Operation Healthy Delta 2021.  The IRT provided medical and food service to two locations in Missouri, and one in Illinois, from June 14th to the 24th.

South Carolina ANG photo by Lieutenant Colonel Jim Saint Clair.

Army Reserve video report, IRT used as excuse to provide animal and human medical services to Turtle Mountain Reservation, North Dakota, 09MAY2021:

U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Karen J. Tomasik.

05MAY2021, IRT Arctic Care Kodiak Island 2021 was conducted to provide medical, dental, optometry, and veterinary care across communities on the island of Kodiak, Alaska.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sergeant Frans Labranche.

On 04MAY2021, military active duty, Reserve and National Guard medical personnel took over Lakeside High School, in Arkansas, apparently the first for the Delta Wellness Mission 2021 IRT.

U.S. Food Crisis 2021: “…A PERFECT TERRIBLE STORM.” CRAWLING MORMON CRICKETS & FLYING GRASSHOPPERS JOIN FORCES?

U.S. Hurricane prep 2021: GEORGIA MILITIA WARMS-UP THE D-R-M-K-T

U.S. Wildfires 2021: FOR FIRST TIME, IDAHO MOBILIZES MILITIA FOR FIRE DUTY!

Cascadia Rising: PREP FOR 2022, “…EXTRAORDINARY LEVELS OF MASS CASUALTIES…”!

Typhoon 2021: T-C-C-O-R PREP

The U.S. military trains to save your pet from disaster!

On 11JUL2019, U.S. Army Reserve veterinarians operate on a cat in New York state, as part of a massive Air Force, Army, Navy, Reserves and National Guard mission (Healthy Cortland and Greater Chenango Cares Innovative Readiness Training) to provide taxpayer funded pet care, as well as healthcare for poor people (so much for ObamaCare), in Cortland and Chenango counties.

In July 2019, U.S. Army veterinarians vaccinate pigs in Gyuana, as part of a Veterinary Medical Readiness Training Exercise during operation New Horizons 2019.

At the end of June 2019, U.S. Marines worked with Onslow County Animal Control, in North Carolina, to set up pet cages in preparations for the 2019 hurricane season.

In June 2019, U.S. Army Reserve veterinarians provided taxpayer funded vaccinations to farmers in Guatemala (you know, one of the countries flooding the U.S. with illegals).

 At the end of May 2019, the Oklahoma National Guard rescued flood victims, including pets.  There was no shortage of volunteers to help the animals: “… I had asked for anybody who wanted to help with the rescue, transport or housing of livestock for flood victims. That roster grew over 36 hours to about 500 people and once we knew we had the resources to help we reached out to individuals in need.”-Captain Thalia Douglas

Video of Muscatatuck Urban Training Center animal farm, Indiana, 02MAY2019, where civilian and military first responders train for disasters:

In April 2019, a first ever Pet Owner Disaster Preparedness Fair was conducted at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Veterinary Center, in Washington state.

 15APR2019, a dog recovers from surgery in Palau, it was the result of cooperation between the Palau Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and U.S. Army veterinarians.

Official video explainer from MEDCOM (U.S. Army Medical Command) Public Health Activity Italy, about Animal Care Specialists training:

Official video of the history of the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps:

WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR PETS AFTER PARADISE (as in the California city) IS DESTROYED BY THE FIRES OF HELL?

TO SAVE THE ANIMALS, U.S. MILITARY DEPLOYED TO GEORGIA!

What happens to your pets after Paradise is destroyed by the Fires of Hell?

29NOV2018 (02:34 UTC-07 Tango 06) 08 Azar 1397/20 Rabi ‘al-Awwal 1440/22 Gui-Hai 4716

A volunteer with the North Valley Animal Rescue Group, cuddles a dog being housed in a temporary shelter at the municipal airport in Chico, California. California Army National Guard photo by Specialist Amy Carle, 18NOV2018.

“As awful as this situation is, it has boosted my confidence in humanity.”-Michelle Moore, Chico State student from Texas working 12 hour shifts to save the animals

One of nearly 1800 displaced animals being cared for in shelters managed by the North Valley Animal Rescue Group. California Army National Guard photo by Specialist Amy Carle, 18NOV2018.

The recent Camp Fire in the not-so-golden (for many reasons) U.S. state of California wiped out the town of Paradise.  Not only are thousands of people now homeless, so are an estimated 1-thousand-8-hundred pets.

Video of California National Guard UH-60M Black Hawk attempting to block Camp Fire from spreading:

Many of the now homeless cats and dogs are being housed at the Chico Municipal Airport.  Volunteers, with groups like North Valley Animal Disaster Group, are struggling to help.  Even the California National Guard is helping: “We’re unloading people’s donations and giving people donations that have been received. We give people the right directions if their animal is lost, or if their animal is here and they want to visit them. It’s good to show your support and help them the best way you can. It gives me pride and joy…to help them with whatever they need.”-Specialist Mark Maynard, California Army National Guard

California Army National Guard photo by Specialist Amy Carle, 18NOV2018.

Pallets full of pet food, piles of dog beds, and boxes of leashes and toys have arrived at the airport, and there’s a steady stream of people driving up to donate what they can.

California Army National Guard photo by Specialist Amy Carle, 18NOV2018.

Because of the fires the Chico Municipal Airport is not open to normal air traffic, so it was picked to be a temporary animal shelter.  Many of the unpaid volunteers work 12 hours at a time. National Guard Military Police patrol the airport at night so the volunteers can take a break.

California Army National Guard photo by Specialist Amy Carle, 28NOV2018.

The lost pets are brought in by fire fighters, utility workers, or the pets are there because their owners are also now homeless.   But there are reunions between lost pets and owners as well.  Other organizations working to save the pets of Paradise are Butte County Animal Control, International Fund for Animal Welfare, and the California Veterinary Medical Reserve Corp: “This effort is just so huge. It’s a rare and extraordinary thing. It takes all of us to get things done.”-Norm Rosene, North Valley Animal Disaster Group

California Army National Guard photo by Specialist Amy Carle, 28NOV2018.

The California Army National Guard, along with the USDA Veterinary Services, also assisted livestock owners.

 

 FREE SHOTS FOR PUERTO RICO PETS!

HARVEY: WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR PETS?

LOUISIANA MILITIA RESCUES FLOOD VICTIMS & THEIR PETS!

U.S. COAST GUARD: WHAT HAPPENS TO COWS ABANDONED IN FLOODED TOWNS?

HAWAIIAN COWS BOMBED BY FUKUSHIMA RADIATION! 

FUKUSHIMA TO EUTHANIZE ABANDONED LIVESTOCK AND PETS!

FOOD CRISIS: HALF MILLION LIVESTOCK STARVING TO DEATH IN JAPAN!

JAPANESE BREAK INTO 20KM EVACUATION ZONE TO BRING YOU VIDEO OF LIVESTOCK & PETS LEFT TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES!

aMERICA sPREAD tHIN: nORTH aMERICA mAY 2018

These are just a few of the U.S. military operations happening across the North American region for the Gregorian month of May, 2018.

ALABAMA: More proof ObamaCare-ACA is a total failure; U.S. Department of Defense deployed hundreds of Active, Guard and Reserve personnel from around the U.S. for the Alabama Wellness Innovative Readiness Training mission.

ALASKA: The National Guard Best Warrior Region VI 2018 competition was held on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.  State militia competitors come from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming. 

Red Flag Alaska 2018 included units from NATO countries

ARKANSAS: 

Arkansas National Guard deployed Lakotas to the New Mexico/Mexico border, as part of Operation Guardian Support

ARIZONA: 

National Guard personnel clear brush as part of Operation Guardian Support in Yuma

Missouri National Guard preps for air patrol of border, in Tucson, as part of Operation Guardian Support

CALIFORNIA:  Why does our government keep insisting the War on Terror isn’t about religion?  In violation of the U.S. Constitution, Travis Air Force Base became the headquarters for Firefighters for Christ, a specifically christian organization using christianity to influence firefighters from Sweden, the Philippines, Germany, Northern Ireland, Canada and Switzerland: “While the experiences of someone who is Muslim or Jewish may differ from our own, we enjoy the opportunity to deepen each other’s spiritual resilience.”-John Speakman, Travis Fire Emergency Services

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan inspected border wall construction efforts in Calexico

National Guard getting briefed on their deployment to border patrol near San Diego, as part of Operation Guardian Support

U.S. Border Patrol at Friendship Park just south of Imperial Beach

Video of Australian’s invading (?) Camp Pendleton (RIMPAC):

Video report Fort Hunter Liggett burned by wildfires:

Cub Scouts help Army Corps of Engineers restore native plants along the Santa Ana River

Army Corps of Engineers declares debris removal, from January’s Santa Barbara County mudslides, complete

CANADA: U.S. Army Reserve units from California and South Dakota took part in Maple Resolve 18-01, Wainwright, Alberta.  

COSTA RICA: 

The USAF spent three weeks training Costa Rican police in anti-drug ops

DELAWARE: 

Attempting to save taxpayer’s money by installing solar panels at Dover Air Force Base

EL SALVADOR: Texas Air National Guard video explainer of what they’re doing in El Salvador:

67th Signal Battalion, from Georgia, video explainer of what they’re doing in El Salvador:

Video report Puerto Rico National Guard serving up food in El Salvador:

Your tax dollars at work building schools in El Salvador:

FLORIDA: 

Your tax dollars at work at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa, 23MAY2018

Video report U.S. Special Operations Command  CAPEX in Tampa:

Video report Fleet Week:

Video Coast Guard diver school:

GEORGIA:  More proof ObamaCare-ACA is a total failure; U.S. Department of Defense deployed hundreds of personnel under Operation Empower Health- Greater Savannah, which provided free (taxpayer funded) healthcare to people and their pets!!!

GREENLAND: 

New York Air National Guard attends Kool Skool at Camp Raven

GUATEMALA: 

U.S. military personnel honored by Guatemala with the  Medalla Monja Blanca (Medal of the White Nun), after spending a year training up elite naval special forces in counter-narcotics operations.

HAWAII: Video National Guard responds to volcano: 

HONDURAS: 

USA Sergeant First Class Levon Fernandez awarded the Soldier’s Medal for Heroism for helping two Honduran pilots after their plane crashed

INDIANA: Video report NetWars Operation Cybershield:

Military propaganda at the Indy 500

LOUISIANA:  

Louisiana National Guard deployed Lakotas to the Texas/Mexico border, as part of Operation Guardian Support

MARYLAND: 

Army Corps of Engineers begins jetty project on Rhodes Point Smith Island

NEW MEXICO: 

Region 7 Best Warrior Competition

Red Flag Rescue 18-2

NEW YORK:New York Army National Guard along with State Police, U.S. Health and Human Services, Brookhaven Labs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation took part in a Weapons of Mass Destruction training event at the Plum Island Animal Disease Research Facility.

USN/USMC personnel help renovate a building in Brooklyn-NYC for Habitat for Humanity

Video San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Arlington during Fleet Week:

Video USAF Alpha Warrior Challenge:

New York Army National Guard’s 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion deploys to Kuwait

OKLAHOMA: 

290 Army National Guardsmen from across the nation took part in Air Assault, Pathfinder and Rappel Master Schools in Oklahoma

OREGON: 

Oregon National Guard CH-47 Chinook crews trained for expected ‘domestic missions’, mainly responding to natural disasters

I’m still upset over how many local TV news reporters and anchors still say “Have a happy Memorial Day.”  Only the ‘enemy’ would be happy about that.

Oregon Army National Guard fire their M119 Howitzers at Willamette National Cemetery, for Memorial Day

PANAMA: 

U.S. tax dollars and military personnel help the Panamanian Ministry of Health hand out drugs to silly-vilians

PENNSYLVANIA: 

Pennsylvania National Guard plans for hurricane season

PUERTO RICO: Video of funeral for Major José Ramón:

Army Corps of Engineers and taxpayer funded contractors so far have collected 4-million cubic yards of dead vegetation since Hurricane Maria hit in September 2017!

SOUTH CAROLINA: USMC video prepping for hurricanes: 

TEXAS: 

South Carolina National Guard deployed their Lakotas to Texas as part of Operation Guardian Response

Airmen from Dyess AFB deploy to Afghanistan

Texas Army National Guard 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment deploys to the Horn of Africa

UTAH: 807th Medical Command Deployment Support video explainer:

WASHINGTON: Video 100 years of the Army Chemical Corps:

WASHINGTON DC:  48th Annual Washington Conference on the Americas

AMERICA SPREAD THIN: NORTH AMERICA, APRIL 2018

To save the animals, U.S. military deployed to Georgia!

19JUN2018 (15:00 UTC-07 Tango 06)  29 Khordad 1397/05 Shawwal 1439/06 Wu-Wu 4716

Georgia Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Jamila A. Haven, 10MAY2018.

In May, the Department of Defense deployed hundreds of personnel to the U.S. state of Georgia. It was part of Operation Empower Health Greater Savannah, in response to the fact the economy has not recovered (and ObamaCare isn’t working).  Not only can’t people pay for their own healthcare, but they can’t pay for the care of their pets!

Wyoming Air National Guard Photo by Technical Sergeant John Galvin, 13MAY2018.

The military operation was conducted in conjunction with Humane Society for Greater Savannah, Georgia Southern University and the christian owned Saint Joseph/Chandler hospital system (“No proof of income, residency or picture ID is required for services”).

Official video explainer:

MARIA: FREE SHOTS FOR PUERTO RICO PETS!

HARVEY: WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR PETS?

LOUISIANA MILITIA RESCUES FLOOD VICTIMS & THEIR PETS!

WORLD ANIMAL DAY: EVER WONDER WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR PETS DURING WAR? IT AIN’T PRETTY!

MEDICAL MARTIAL LAW AS SPANISH COPS START KILLING EBOLA VICTIM’S PETS!

PETS ABANDONED TO DIE ALONE IN ALABAMA!

PETS BEING THROWN OUT?

FLUORIDE WARS: STUDIES SHOW YOUR PETS ARE BEING POISONED BY FLUORIDATED WATER & GRAPES!

Fukushima: DOGS & CATS STILL ABANDONED IN RADIATION ZONES

America Spread Thin: West Pacific, March 2018

“We are going to have to stop being the policemen of the world.”-Donald Trump, August 2015 interview with Hugh Hewitt

Video, U.S. Marines assist with Cyclone Marcus clean-up in Australia, 22MAR2018:

Department of Defense video update on activities with Indonesia and Japan, 20MAR2018:

U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 Seabees building a school addition in Indonesia, under the gaze of students, 30MAR2018

Video, U.S. tax dollars at work supporting Pacific Partnership 2018 event at Teaching Farm University Dehasen near Bengkulu, Indonesia, 31MAR2018:

News media get U.S. taxpayer funded ride on MV-22B in Okinawa, Japan, 09MAR2018, after a series of V-22 crashes and other incidents

Intimidating Japanese news media with U.S. flags aboard MV-22B Osprey in Okinawa

Senator Elizabeth Warren visits U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, 27MAR2018

Department of Defense video, Iwo Jima and Korea:

Video of military personnel volunteering to make bread for Korean orphans:

Osan Girl Scouts of Osan Air Base donated almost 200 boxes of cookies to Seongju, Korea, 13MAR2018

A very sexist video about U.S. female military personnel in the Pacific:

Official opening ceremony for Pacific Partnership 2018, off the island of Yap, aboard USNS Brunswick, 20MAR2018

Since 2006, 22 partner nations around the globe have participated in Pacific Partnership providing medical/veterinary care and completing nearly 2-hundred engineering projects throughout the region.

At the end of march, the U.S. Army deployed animal care specialists to the island of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia: “There are no practicing veterinarians in Yap. The U.S. Army is the only branch of service with clinical veterinarians, and we are honored to be here in Yap working side-by-side with local professionals.”-Captain Adam Boe

“YAPS [Yap Animal Protection Society] consists of nearly twenty volunteers dedicated to bringing veterinarians from nearby countries through donations and fundraising campaigns.”-Captain Trevor Tenney

Video U.S. Navy hospital ship Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, 20MAR2018:

Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 1st Class Lisa Braulik, from Old Town, Idaho, aboard USS Bonhomme Richard in the Philippine Sea, 28MAR2018

USAF Band U.S. Embassy Celebration of Friendship with Kingdom of Thailand, 23MAR2018

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) recovery team Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, 25MAR2018

Video of USS Carl Vinson flying the Vietnamese flag, 06MAR2018, it was the first time in more than 40 years that a U.S. aircraft carrier was in Vietnam:

AMERICA SPREAD THIN: WEST ASIA, MARCH 2018

Maria: Free shots for Puerto Rico Pets!

25 OCT 2017 (16:06 UTC-07 Tango 06)  03 Aban 1396/04 Safar 1439/06 Geng-Xu (9th month) 4715

The Department of Health of Puerto Rico, State Office for Animal Control and the Medical College of Veterinarians of Puerto Rico began a free vaccination program for dogs who survived Irma and Maria.

U.S. Coast Guard delivers pet food, medicine, and other supplies in the U.S. Virgin Islands, September 2017

There’s a concern that leptospirosis, rabies and other diseases could spread.

Veterinary teams will also evaluate the health of hurricane refuge dogs.   However, if the pet is found to be needing medical care it will be referred to a local vet.

MARIA: MILITARIZATION OF PUERTO RICO & VIRGIN ISLANDS

ON TOP OF OL’ SMOKEY, NO MORE?

Harvey: What happens to your pets?

Texas Army National Guard rescue flood victim’s dog in Orange, Texas. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Carl Greenwell, 04SEP2017.

U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Safety Security Team San Francisco rescues a puppy in the Port Arthur area of Texas. USCG photo by Petty Officer Third Class Valerie Higdon, 01SEP2017.

USCG Sector Lower Mississippi River joins with Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. USCG photo by Petty Officer Third Class Brandon, 02SEP2017.

Video, Darlene Chandler of Harris County Precinct One Constable’s Office praises U.S. Coast Guard’s efforts to save pets and livestock:

Livestock trapped on a sliver of dry land, U.S. Army photo by Specialist Dustin D. Biven, 03SEP2017.

Video, Alabama National Guard drops hay to stranded Texas livestock:

U.S. Customs & Border Patrol rescued pets in Rockport, Texas. USCBP photo by Glenn Fawcett, 27AUG2017.

USCG sailor with Maritime Safety Security Team Seattle rescues a dog in the Beaumont area of Texas. USCG photo by Petty Officer Third Class Valerie Higdon, 01SEP2017.

Cypress Creek, Texas. Texas Army National Guard photo by Captain Martha Nigrelle, 28AUG2017.

WORLD ANIMAL DAY: EVER WONDER WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR PETS DURING WAR? IT AIN’T PRETTY!

Pocatello Charlotte Fire update: 50% contained. BBQ outlawed! No return home until Monday! Sunday critical weather day

“I’m still in shock from what happened. My home just seemed to vaporize.”-Suzanne Bielinski

Saturday morning, 30 June 2012, officials reported the Charlotte Fire 50% contained, with hopes for full containment by Sunday.  At least one building re-ignited overnight.

Officials think homes in the Johnny Creek area escaped damage.

Pocatello Police and Bannock County Sheriff’s deputies are escorting some residents back to their homes, however there’s been an increase of looky loos trying to sneak in by car, or even trying to hike in: “Please don’t make us start arresting people.”-Lorin Nielsen, Bannock County Sheriff

Not only are fireworks banned, in Pocatello, but so are outdoor BBQs.

People are reporting lost pets, but officials said it will be at least Monday before pet owners can check with Pocatello Animal Shelter.

 “I’m sorry that people lost their houses but we did the best we could. Every agency worked their guts out trying to save those houses, but we couldn’t save them all.”-Steve Hadley, Bannock County Commissioner

Friday, 29 June 2012, evacuees from the Charlotte Fire at the south end of Pocatello, Idaho, were told Monday would be the soonest they could enter the burn area.

Buildings the Charlotte Fire missed. Near Mink Creek, Johnny Creek and Gibson Jack areas Pocatello, Idaho, 29 June 2012.

Many people are wondering why such a delay in allowing residents back in, especially when it looks like the fire is out? Local officials insist there are still hot spots, and many downed power lines.  They are also concerned about weather conditions, as air temperatures are expected to be even hotter on Saturday and Sunday. Weather forecasts are calling for near record high temps.

Smoke still rising from Mink Creek, Johnny Creek and Gibson Jack areas, 29 June 2012.

The wind is also an unpredictable factor, as anyone who lives here can tell you.  Forecasts are calling for single digit wind speeds, but as temps rise so does the wind speed.  The winds are also finicky as to which way they like to blow, wait five minutes and wind’ll change direction.

Another reason is that more than a dozen investigators are trying to find out why the fire started.  They say they’ve determined the ignition point, but are still trying to figure out how it started.

At this point 66 homes were lost, along with 29 outbuildings (sheds, detached garages, barns, etc).  A rough estimate on the cost of damage to homes is $7.6 million USD.  There is still conflicting acreage reports.  Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center claims an estimated 1,038 acres burned, however, state and federal fire agencies say only 450 acres burned.

More than 1,000 people were evacuated from the Mink Creek, Johnny Creek and Gibson Jack areas.  Some roads around the burn area are open to residents only, who must prove they live there using identification such as Idaho drivers license.

Little Bird (Air Tractor 802F) water dropper ready for another run, Pocatello (Pokey) airport, 29 June 2012.

So far the cost to fight the Charlotte Fire has exceeded $1 million USD.  Despite some evacuees being a little upset about not being allowed back home ’till Monday, they applauded efforts to fight the fire.

Ex USN PV2 Neptune, now a water bomber operated by Neptune Aviation Service of Montana.

Charlotte Fire, 66 homes now destroyed