Got a minute? I'm Pete Skurbont, Defense Commissary Agency historian with a minute of history. In June 1991, the impending eruption of long dormant volcano Mount Pinotubo in the Philippine Islands forced the evacuation of Clark Air Base to the Navy Base at Subic Bay. Two days later, the mountain erupted and covered Clark with volcanic ash. The eruption continued while Typhoon Unia arrived, blowing the ash toward Subic Bay and the Navy Base at San Miguel. The wet heavy ash snapped trees and collapsed roofs. Days were dark as night. The insformers shorted out with loud explosions. In the heat and darkness there were no lights, air conditioning or running water. Earthquakes, rain and vicious lightning terrified everyone. Mud flows covered Clark's commissary floors with mud and ash. Facilities and warehouses at Subic and San Miguel were damaged or destroyed. Only the Subic store reopened and it closed the next year, when economics, political change, and the end of the Cold War, compelled the closure of all US bases in the Philippines. As a minute of history, I'm Pete Skurbot, Deca historian.