The entire island is without electricity, water systems are inoperable and a port fire continues to consume fuel at the Exxon Mobil Corp. storage area that stores 200 million gallons of fuel.

Although relief supplies and personnel from various Pacific Command units have already begun to arrive, military officials on the island say they are bracing themselves for what may take months to return to some normalcy. Officials said base facilities and personnel may have to run on generator power for the rest of December, expecting that it may take the local power authority weeks to repair downed power lines.

Officials at Andersen Air Force Base and at Naval Base Guam have urged residents to conserve not only what water is available, but also fuel. Gas pumps at Andersen were expected to run dry Tuesday, said Staff Sgt. Jess Harvey, a base spokesman.

At the naval base, officials restricted gas station use to emergency vehicles only, saying there was only a one-day supply left.

Harvey said many base residents made a run on Andersen’s gas station to stock up on fuel. He noted that when residents on Guam lose power, which happens often, they typically resort to generators for their power needs. If the fuel runs out for any length of time, residents will not be able to light their homes, power their air conditioners or run their refrigerators with backup generators.

But help may be on the way, said Master Sgt. Howard Smith, a spokesman for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service Pacific region. Smith said AAFES officials on Guam were negotiating Tuesday to find a local distributor “who can assist us with our fuel needs right now.”

Lt. Thurraya Kent, a Navy spokeswoman on Guam, said the port fires have intensified Pongsona’s devastation. All naval facilities and housing units on Guam have little to no water pressure, and the base’s water treatment plant is not producing water because it’s without electricity, she said. Heavy rains and erosion have turned the water brown at the base’s reservoir.

To aid in the recovery effort, the U.S. Pacific Fleet, headquartered in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, will airlift more than $4 million worth of supplies and services from three continents to Guam, said Ensign Mike Morely, a spokesman for the command.

Nine structural and electrical specialists from Honolulu along with medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and bottled water were to arrive in Guam on Wednesday.

Pacific Fleet has arranged to send 10 electrical generators from Honolulu, 10 large electrical generators from Port Hueneme, Calif., and 11 electrical line repair trucks from Australia.

Naval Hospital Guam, which has damage to its roof, insulation system and air conditioning system, continues to operate for critical functions. Kent said the base hospital also is treating many civilian patients from Guam’s Memorial Hospital, which received major structural damage.

Most Navy facilities, including the base exchange, commissary, child development centers, schools and other support facilities, remain closed due to lack of water and power, Kent said. Only essential personnel are to report to work at the Navy base, she said.

At Andersen, Smith said “AAFES is doing everything they can to provide quality goods and services as soon as possible.”

He said the base exchange, car care center, shoppette and gas station opened Monday after the lifting of typhoon conditions to offer “limited services.”

Harvey said if the water and power doesn’t come on within a week, the base schools will likely be closed for the rest of the month.

Courtesy of U.S. Air Force Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, sustained waist-high flooding and major structural damage following Super Typhoon Pongsona.

Guam Gov. Carl Gutierrez declared a state of emergency and activated the island’s National Guard units to help with the disaster relief effort. President Bush followed suit and declared Guam a federal disaster area Monday.

Navy and Air Force officials confirmed Tuesday that base firefighters have been helping fight a blaze at a fuel storage area in Apra Harbor’s commercial shipping port, as reported in Guam’s Pacific Daily News. Eight men initially reported missing have been located, the newspaper reported.

Marine Maj. Guillermo Canedo, a spokesman for U.S. Pacific Command in Honolulu, said lightning struck one fuel tank, causing it to explode. Two other tanks subsequently caught fire, and others were in danger of igniting, said Canedo, who added that the fires were not contained as of Tuesday morning.

The fuel storage area contains 200 million gallons of fuel and is close to Naval Base Guam, but not close enough to pose a threat to any naval facilities, Canedo said.

Lt. Thurraya Kent, a Guam Navy spokeswoman, said base construction personnel aided the firefighting effort by clearing roads of debris to allow rescue vehicles to reach the fire. She said the base has a liaison officer working with the Guam government and has dispatched a water tanker truck.

The PDN reported that the tanks, belonging to Exxon Mobil Corp., contained jet fuel.

The jet fuel was in a civilian refinery and was not for the military, said Air Force 1st Lt. Kim Melchor, a spokeswoman for the base.

As of Tuesday, the entire island was without power, said Staff Sgt. Jess Harvey, a spokesman at Andersen Air Force Base. Harvey said the Guam Power Authority, which provides all the island’s electricity, has given no estimate of when power will be restored, although Gutierrez said it would take weeks. It took nine days for power to come back on line after Super Typhoon Chata’an struck the island in July, causing millions of dollars worth of damage.

Initial estimates have concluded that Pongsona, which means “beautiful flower” in Korean, caused much more severe damage than Chata’an.

At Andersen, there was some running water, “but not much,” Harvey added.

At the naval base, most facilities had no running water, Kent said.

Officials at both bases have instituted water conservation measures, urging residents to drastically reduce their water usage, if they even have water.

Canedo said initial assessments indicate that the storm caused extensive damage and flooding throughout the island.

No military personnel were reported injured or killed, Canedo said.

“All naval ships and subs escaped damage by departing the port before the storm hit,” Canedo said.

The storm did knock loose a dry dock facility in the harbor, but it’s tied down with temporary restraints, Canedo said. He added that Navy divers were expected to begin underwater assessments of the harbor Tuesday to re-certify navigational aides such as buoys and lights that aid ship captains when they enter the harbor.