Wake Island Evacuees Arrive On Oahu

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii -- Nearly 200 evacuees from Wake Island landed at Hickam Air Force Base Monday afternoon as Typhoon Ioke approached the Air Force outpost.

Wake Island is halfway between Hawaii and Japan. The Air Force sent to two large cargo jets to get everyone off the island. Two C-17s left Hickam Air Force Base at 3 a.m.

The Air Force said that the evacuation went off smoothly and ahead of schedule. The two C-17s landed on Wake Island at 8 a.m. Hawaii time. The evacuees were ready to go.

Wake Island is both a scientific outpost and a midpoint air base for Air Force jets flying across the Pacific Ocean.

Most of the 200 evacuees are Thai Nationals who work for the island's contractor. They had to go through customs at the Hickam terminal. They will stay in hotels.

The Air Force and contractors buttoned up the facilities as much as possible in the time they had to prepare for the storm. The typhoon is expected to come within 16 miles of Wake Island and they expect an 18-foot storm surge and 40-foot waves.

"We went ahead and prepared all the facilities as best we could. (We) put sandbags around them, secured all the windows, the doors. We moved some of the supplies around so that we'll have generators hopefully keeping the freezers going while we're off island," Wake Island commander Capt. Nate Harris said.

When the workers return depends on the storm and how much damage it does. Typhoon Ioke is a Category 4 storm.

Wake Island has a long history. The site of a famous battle in World War II, it has been controlled by the U.S. Air Force since 1972. Wake Island has never been evacuated in the time it has been controlled by the Air Force.