Homestead reservists prepare for Ernesto Published Aug. 29, 2006 By Dan Galindo 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. -- Air Force reservists of the 482nd Fighter Wing are preparing for landfall of Tropical Storm Ernesto on the Florida Peninsula here.Pilots evacuated six F-16s to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Ft. Worth, Texas, on Aug. 28. Another eight jets remained at Hill Air Force Base, Utah over the weekend when attempting to return to Florida following an overseas training exercise. "The pilots were actually on the runway at Hill Air Force Base when we made the call for the jets to remain there," said Lt. Col. Tracy Hunt, deputy operations group commander. "Tropical storms too often turn into hurricanes, so we are not taking any chances with our assets," he said. Base employees have also been covering sensitive office equipment and removing loose items around base facilities. "Right now the storm seems to be disorganized and the pressure is rising, which is good for us," said Ron Smith, weather operations chief. "My main concern at this point is not the wind, but the rain. Several locations around the base are flood plains." Mr. Smith said that the base will begin to see gusting winds by this afternoon with heavy thunderstorms and lightning by early evening. Thunderstorms may also produce tornadoes. "As far as winds are concerned, the worst I'm looking at now is sustained winds from the east at 45 mph, gusting up to 60 mph." Mr. Smith said. "However, that's still enough to make loose objects very dangerous." While the storm is not expect to make landfall until late this evening, base leadership has required all non-essential reservists and civilians to evacuate the base at Noon today. Yesterday base employees were able to take advantage of liberal-leave to prepare their homes for the storm.