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BLUFFDALE - Col. Scott Olson sits at the head of a long conference room table and motions to the lists, a result of Wednesday night's brainstorming session, hanging on the opposite wall.
"This is how we go to war," says Olson, the training site manager at the Utah Army National Guard's Camp Williams, which is gearing up to absorb as many as 1,000 victims of Hurricane Katrina.
He and his troops have inventoried their facilities, identified their capabilities and figured out what they'll need to pull off the mission. They are prepared to be a haven for those who need space to recover from astonishing hardship and figure out their next steps.
"We see it as an opportunity to help our fellow Americans," Olson says.
Late Thursday, the five Guard refueling planes earmarked to airlift refugees got the go-ahead to fly to Louisiana, pick up about 50 people and, if all goes well, come right back.
"We're ready to accept 1,000 people, but we don't know who they are," said Carol Sisco, Utah Human Services spokeswoman. "We don't know if we need diapers or canes."
Tennessee, Texas and Oklahoma also have offered to take in the homeless. Given the distance, said Tammy Kikuchi, spokeswoman for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., "Utah doesn't seem like the best state."
But she cites the state's "reputation for being willing to volunteer and step up in times of crisis" as the reason that Louisiana solicited its help.
There was no shortage of well-wishers offering up their homes, food and clothing. Officials from numerous state agencies, churches, foundations and charities spent the better part of Thursday readying shelter facilities and amassing volunteers. JetBlue offered to help transport people if necessary.
Twenty-two firefighters from the Salt Lake Valley are ready to deploy to New Orleans for 30 days once they get word from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that their help is needed, said South Salt Lake Fire Chief Steve Foote. Once there, they will split up into teams of two and disperse throughout the city to administer First Aid, deliver food and supplies and and pick through rubble.
Lance Peterson, Weber County's emergency services coordinator, was headed to Louisiana on Thursday to help in the relief effort. Peterson is part of a regional FEMA team called up to help, said Sheriff Brad Slater.
Those involved, Sisco said, are "just so overwhelmed by the huge number of people and the devastation" along the Gulf Coast.
But until help comes, countless people are stranded on rooftops, crammed into the fetid Louisiana Superdome and huddled on freeway overpasses.
The Air National Guard plans to dispatch five or six KC135s that in the course of about 12 hours are expected to make the round trip to Louisiana, taking aboard 45 to 50 people who will fill out a health screening on the flight back to Salt Lake.
A clinic at the airport will conduct quick tests for communicable diseases and doctors will also offer private check-ups to determine who needs immediate medical help or medication.
The displaced will then be bused over to Camp Williams, where they will be housed in the barracks and the officer housing. Camp Williams will act as "the mothership," while a homeless shelter in Midvale and possibly Dugway Proving Grounds would be used as backup housing, said Verdi White, deputy commissioner of public safety.
Camp Williams houses soldiers who come for training. For that reason, Olson believes the 125-acre garrison is "uniquely qualified" to welcome evacuees, whom he estimates would be on-site for as long as four months.
Three dining halls can feed 200 each in an hour. Barracks can be separated by gender, and with the use of partitions and smaller buildings, families could stick together. Some buildings are equipped for refugees with disabilities.
Laundry facilities, a chapel, exercise quarters and medical clinics are a short walk away. Classrooms are available, should teachers wish to instruct on site, and rooms are free for day care. The logistics warehouse is ready to store perishables, clothing, bedding and toiletries.
Olson predicts that 67 Guardsmen will be activated to protect and assist evacuees, who will have access to counseling and religious support, clothing and health care, child care and employment services. The state also is working with the Jordan School District to enroll children.
"You have to give kids a sense of normalcy, they need to be in school," said Jeff St. Romain, president of Utah's Volunteers of America, which will aid in the effort.
At the state's request, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will help feed the evacuees.
"So far, whether or not they're going to be in members' homes . . . we haven't heard anything yet," said church spokesman Dale Bills.
But for all Utah's preparedness, many questions remained, including whether evacuees want to travel so far from home or will consider Utah a hospitable place.
On Thursday, members of Huntsman's senior staff, accompanied by homeless advocate Pamela Atkinson, toured barracks at Camp Williams and the Road Home's overflow shelter in Midvale.
"The governor wants to make sure it's just a good quality of life," said Chief of Staff Jason Chaffetz.
The Midvale shelter is tucked next to railroad tracks at the far end of an industrial park. It is usually put to use from late October to early April to accommodate overflow of homeless people from The Road Home's main facility in Salt Lake City.
One side of the building can be set up with cots for up to 250 people. The other side is designated for families, with enough mattress space for up to 35 families.
A kitchen is equipped with multiple refrigerators, ranges, ovens and sinks so those using the facility can prepare meals.
It is a modest space, with exposed insulation and a concrete floor. "It's very basic," said Matt Minkevitch, Road Home director. But "it beats the cold."
The temporary shelters are meant to be just that. The ultimate goal is to move families into more permanent housing.
But Minkevitch said if the shelter is still full of evacuees come November when temperatures drop, "We'll make room for everybody in our community and our friends in Louisiana."
Military missions also will continue at Camp Williams. On Sept. 10, a couple hundred soldiers from throughout the West will arrive for artillery training.
Accepting civilians onto a military site would require special planning. Restrictive areas, including armories with explosives and weapons, would need ample designation and protection. Alcohol policies would be subject to review. There would be a need for extra recreational activities and, with the help of UTA, a new bus stop would give residents freedom to leave.
Olson said that while the idea is in the "formative stages," he would hope that by forming some kind of community board, evacuees would feel they have a voice to shape their environment.
But as he plots his next move, he focuses on the details. Special identification tags. Funding and meal contracts. Beefed up security, mail service and phone lines. Support personnel such as counselors, chaplains and FEMA representatives.
All special needs Olson and his staff are considering as they wait for the call to action.
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Tribune reporters Matt Canham, Tyler Peterson, Kristin Moulton and Lisa Rosetta contributed to this report.