Hot Springs releases Christmas Day snow storm clean-up statistics

Working in tandem, the City of Hot Springs’ Sanitation Department and Street Division collected a total of 1,866.83 tons of debris citywide following a Christmas Day snow and ice storm that devastated the area, snapping trees like twigs, blocking roadways and robbing thousands of power during the holiday season.

City Districts 1 and 6 were the heaviest hit, with 519.11 and 419.69 tons of debris collected, respectively (details attached).  Districts 5, 2, 3 and 4 followed, in order of volume collected. The city optimized the collection effort by sending street crews first to remove hanging limbs and other hazards in an area, and following with Sanitation knuckleboom trucks to pick up storm debris piled curbside.

A third component to the cleanup effort was the burning of vegetative storm debris at the city’s compost facility, overseen by the Utilities Department.  Upon obtaining EPA and county approvals, the city burned the debris, a necessary task due to the massive volume collected.  The city will submit all eligible costs to FEMA for reimbursement.

“I have received numerous positive comments from our residents, ranging from the timeliness of our response to the pride these employees took in their work,” said Deputy City Manager Bill Burrough.  “We are fortunate to have such dedicated staff in Sanitation, Street and Compost, and I appreciate all the efforts of each employee that had anything to do with the success of this endeavor. The Sanitation and Street departments are returning to normal operations with the conclusion of these efforts, and any further collections will be handled through those normal operations.”