Hot Springs Village Tornado Life Safety Cleanup Continues

Hot Springs Village suffered a major laceration on Thursday, March 14, when Mother Nature lashed out with an unexpected attack in the form of a twister, leaving parts of our Village scarred and broken. Although we all want answers on where we are going from here, there are still a lot of unknowns and variables to work through, and it will take some time for things to be sorted out. The devastated woodlands may not be the same in our lifetimes, but the POA is working through this situation, one step at a time to recover our losses and clean up the ruin left behind. Saline and Garland counties have officially declared the weather calamity a disaster.

Tornado-impacted areas are still dangerous

The tornado-impacted areas are still dangerous because of debris and trees still standing. “We were out there the other day when the winds were blowing, and people were walking around. Some root systems of still-standing trees may be damaged and could fall at any time. I guarantee the trees are not as stable as before the tornado,” said Hot Springs Village Public Services Director Ken Unger.

What were the initial recovery efforts?

Initially, the POA tornado recovery efforts encompassed clearing the roads from fallen trees to provide access while the electric companies worked to repair downed power lines to restore power. The POA also worked to repair damage to the water system.

What is the POA tornado recovery focus at this time?

The recovery efforts are now focused on the road right-of-ways for Life Safety Reasons. Utilities such as water mains, sewer lines, and fire hydrants are located on the right-of-way, and it is imperative that these critical areas are cleared in case there is a need to access them for repairs or maintenance. “We are taking action because we cannot afford to wait,” stated Unger.

The POA is concentrating on the most populated areas first so that the impact of funds spent helps the greatest number of residents in the affected area.

Loggers

Unger said they had a decision to make. Staff and the Board could wait and see what compensation we might receive or start the recovery without knowing how much, if anything, we would receive. If government funds are received, the money would funnel through the counties.

In past disasters, the county received the money, either bid out the work or used its own crews, and charged FEMA for what the recovery effort cost. Unger said they are still gathering history on the 2011 tornado and the 2013 ice storm.

There is a 90-day window to recover what timber we can. Once the trees dry out, they are trash, so Unger immediately expanded our forestry management program.

Unger said it is “fortunate we already had our forestry management program going. We have expanded that program and are attacking some areas along the roadways by hauling out trees. We have been doing that for several weeks already. The effort is growing, as Matt [Broom, Associate Director of Public Services] has found additional loggers. The timber harvested will help us offset the cost we have to bear.”

Unger said, “One of the nuances here is that when we performed forestry management before this disaster, we were logging large common property areas.” Much of the common property is interspersed between private property in small parcels, making it difficult to log. Because of that, we have had to find smaller loggers willing to work on the sides of the roadways.

Loggers harvest trees and sell them. We receive some revenue from this operation and do not pay the loggers any additional fees. “They pay us,” said Unger. This is how our forestry management program works. “We don’t want to pay to have trees removed. We want to get paid when trees are removed,” explained Unger. Expanding our forestry management program is helping to start the cleanup.”

“We have been doing forestry management since days after the storm. We’ve been trying to recover as many trees as possible to offset our costs, not knowing whether we are getting reimbursed for anything. That has been ongoing, and those loggers are out there now. We will end up with four or five companies pulling any trees they can off the right of way.”

Broom stated, “We are trying to get five logging companies in to help. It is difficult because most loggers determine their equipment is too large to set up to work in areas or it is too much work to get the logs.”

“We are focusing on what is affecting the right-of-way. If it is touching the right-of-way, we are taking it. We’re cleaning it up. We are focused on life safety to ensure that the right-of-ways are cleaned up so we have access to the utilities and that navigation on the streets is adequate. The primary focus of our crews is cleaning up the right-of-ways.” In addition to the loggers, we have clean-up crews.

Other crews

“Outside of the loggers, we have engaged three contractors this week who are working on the right-of-way cleanup. They will not be cleaning up private property other than the debris located at the right-of-way. They are not coming on private property to clean up. They will only get what they can reach from the road.”

“The clean-up crew currently working is American Tree Service. Next week, we will engage Tyler Conway and Michael’s Tree and Loader Service. These crews are not here for private residents to use to clean up their lots. Please don’t ask the contractors to clean up your private property,” stated Broom.

What is tornado recovery costing?

The Public Services Director said he does not know the total cost for tornado recovery. “The Board approved the first wave of $500,000 to begin the clean up. We wouldn’t have been doing anything if we had waited to hear from the county, state, and FEMA. We would just be sitting here and maybe doing what we could do ourselves [without outside contractors] or via loggers,” said Unger. [As stated above, we don’t have to pay loggers because they sell the timber and pay us some of the money they receive. This is considered an extension of our forestry management program.]

Over the next two and a half months, we will remove as many fallen trees as possible to get reimbursed to help cover the cost of cleaning the rest of the right-of-way.”

The POA will establish the cost for tornado recovery per half mile. This information, gleaned from the first wave recovery efforts, will help determine how much more money is needed.

What kind of financial reimbursement will we receive for tornado recovery?

“What we are trying to get support for is the cleanup.” Plans continue to evolve because it is unknown how much financial assistance the village will receive. Unger said they have supplied the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) data per their request. “ADEM is communicating with staff about the extent of damage, and we told them we are funding cleanup of the right-of-ways.”

“We are still in a limbo state regarding what is recoverable from insurance, the state, or FEMA,” explained Unger. Whether we will receive FEMA money for the March 14 tornado that wreaked havoc in Hot Springs Village is unknown. “All of that is still in limbo. We have submitted documentation and information on our damages,” emphasized Unger.

There are damaged rooftops and utilities, which hopefully will be covered by insurance. One of the water tanks was also heavily damaged.

Over the next two and a half months, loggers will remove as many fallen trees as possible to get reimbursed to help cover the cost of cleaning the rest of the right-of-way.”

Notices to Property Owners and help with tree removal

“We will send notices to property owners within the affected area within the next day or two. If there are trees we can get as part of this operation; We will take them as long as they agree. If they permit us to do so, we will take the sellable ones. We will be unable to clean up the privately owned property,” explained Unger. NOTE: This is the removal of salvageable timber and not a clean-up of the lot.

Unger said he doesn’t want to set expectations that the POA will clean up private property. The POA will only take salvageable timber and debris from private property along the right-of-way.

“Everything is based on timing. If I have people working on a right-of-way, and someone sends me an email granting permission to remove trees on their lot, and I am already past their area, I am not sure who would come in there to try to take some trees. It could be a logger. If the cleanup people are still nearby, they may do it.” There will be an email response address in the mailing. All emails requesting assistance with private tornado recovery should be addressed ONLY to the return address in the notice.

Unger explained, “It is fluid. We can’t wait to receive all of the acknowledgment and permissions. We have to move now. Time is of the essence, and we have to get what we can now.”

What to expect in affected areas

Broom shared, “Noise levels in the clean-up areas will be loud. The crews will be working 10 hours a day or longer. We want the work performed as quickly as possible.” Please don’t call the POA to complain about noise levels from the tornado recovery crews.

“There may be multiple passes through an area. If a clean-up crew comes through and they don’t get everything, it may be due to another contractor in the way or other reasons. We plan on having them come back through as needed.

Broom said, “There will be smoke at “The Pitt” because a controlled burn will occur.” Our burn permit is still active, but it will be extended. There is a 500-square-foot hole where the workers use a grapple to drop the debris. The debris will burn in seconds.

Broom continued, “An incinerator will be used, which is less intrusive than the normal burn we do, but it will be ongoing as material is brought to ‘The Pit.’ The associate director said the incinerator will provide high-heat and, hopefully, low-smoke burn.  “The burning will be a nearly consistent process once it starts.  The project has no end date yet, but once the incinerator gets started, it will be off and on for the entire project.”

Neither Broom nor Unger knew the incinerator noise levels.

Common property cleanup and moving forward

“As we move forward, there may be some efforts to recover usable (sellable) trees from the common property in the short term. We have roughly 90 days. If the trees start to dry out, they are not sellable.”

“We will not clean up common property anytime soon. The most we will do on common property is harvest trees as fast as possible. And that assumes we can reach them within the 90-day time constraint and with logging equipment.”

Unger emphasized, “This is an ongoing process, and plans will develop over time. People need to be patient and lower their expectations. The POA’s obligation is life safety, not beautification.”

“This is a disaster, and we are lucky no one died or was seriously injured; in any disaster, that is the most important thing.” expressed Unger.

Featured Image: (Courtesy of Nick Genty) Hot Springs Village tornado life-safety cleanup continues following destructive tornado.

By Cheryl Dowden