ALTUS – Shortly after an intense ice storm struck southwest Oklahoma, causing significant damage, the City of Altus began the cleanup process.
Director of Emergency Management Services Wayne Cain stated that most of the damage inside the city limits comes from fallen trees and limbs. So, the first task involved managing the debris removal.
To make cleanup efforts run more smoothly, the City has asked residents to keep the roadways clear of debris and to place fallen tree limbs along the street in front of their houses and not in alleys.
“Moving fallen branches to the curb is the responsibility of city residents as city crews are not authorized by law to enter private property,” the press release stated. “We ask that residents cut limbs into manageable-sized pieces so that removal crews will be able to lift and move branches.”
According to city officials, crews will pick up the debris as quickly as possible. But they are asking for residents to be patient with the process. Because there were so many trees and limbs that were affected by the ice storm, officials are expecting city crews to make more than one trip to residences.
After the tree debris is picked up, it will be taken to 720 S. Navajoe St. The central location is an open property on the east side of Navajoe between the train tracks.
“We do have a lot of limbs down around town throughout the city,” said Cain. “It’s probably going to take us a couple of weeks to get everything picked up and moved to the temporary site so we can start chipping it.”
Residents who do not want to wait for the city crews to arrive have other options as well.
“Citizens are authorized to bring the limbs directly to this location themselves,” officials stated. “Only tree limbs will be allowed in the tree branch pile. No dumping fees will apply for citizens who choose to bring tree limbs directly to this site.”
The City of Altus has set certain standards for professional tree removal contractors. They are allowed to bring fallen tree debris to this tree disposal site and are permitted to charge their standard tree removal and hauling charges. However, according to the City of Altus, contractors are not permitted to use the site if they charge customers a dumping fee.
“There will be a large roll-off dumpster on-site, so please put other bulk trash inside the roll-off dumpster and do not mix trash with the tree limb pile,” the release stated. “The roll-off dumpster is not to be used for disposal of tree limbs. Tree limbs must be placed in the tree limb only pile. There will be signs to guide residents who bring limbs themselves.”
When it comes to power outages caused by downed powerlines, Cain said those inside the Altus city limits didn’t experience too much downtime. That is not the case for many Jackson County residents living outside Altus city limits.
If Altus residents have any additional non-emergency difficulties with storm related issues, officials are asking them to call the city’s non-emergency dispatch line at 580-482-4121.
If the problem has to do with a power outage, they are asking residents to Altus Power during business hours at 580-481-2241. The non-emergency dispatch line is also the after-hours number for Altus Power.