Guadalupe Montana, a 37th Civil Engineer Squadron exterior foreman, stretches from a lift bucket to cut an ice-laden tree limb responsible for a two-hour power outage starting around 10 a.m. Jan. 17 on the southern training side of Lackland Air Force Base,Texas. Mr. Montana said the limb, near Bldg. 5570 on Selfridge Avenue between Hughes and Walker Avenues, pushed a primary power line into another line, causing a "big ball of fire" before the short tripped a circuit breaker. The winter storm resulted in the base being closed for Jan. 16 and 17. (USAF photo by Alan Boedeker)

An ice-slick Truemper Street bridge over Military Drive on Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, is blocked off with cones in this view looking east Jan. 17, 2007. Road conditions such as these existed all across the San Antonio area, resulting in the base closure for all but essential personnel Jan. 16 and 17. "Safety for Team Lackland was paramount in making the decision to close the base," said Brig. Gen. Darrell Jones, then the 37th Training Wing commander. "We have a lot of dedicated people on this base who wanted to come to work, but I'd rather have them home for a day or two, waiting out the weather, than risk being in an accident." (USAF photo by Alan Boedeker)

A Lackland Air Force Base civil engineering worker spreads rock salt on an icy sidewalk on the Truemper Street bridge over Military Drive the morning of Jan. 17. The winter storm that started Jan. 15 blanketed San Antonio and the surrounding Hill Country, knocking out power for many and making travel nearly impossible. Lackland Air Force Base was one of many military bases and businesses closed Jan. 16 and 17. (USAF photo by Alan Boedeker)