F-M, WF still hauling storm debris

FARGO — On an average week, Fargo crews pick up about 29 tons of yard waste.

Multiply that by about six, and that’s what a powerful Memorial Day wind storm on May 30 left in its wake in Fargo.

Crews in Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo continue to focus efforts on clearing out debris — and there’s a lot of it, city officials say.

Fargo collected 171 tons of tree limbs and yard debris last week.

West Fargo and Moorhead didn’t have a specific numbers available Monday, but “It’s quite substantial,” said Chad Martin, Moorhead’s director of operations.

It appears many residents took advantage of sunny weather over the weekend to clear out yards.

“We go through an area, and people start bringing out more brush,” said Barry Johnson, West Fargo’s public works director. “It seems like it just keeps coming out on the boulevards.”

Fargo’s six public works crews will largely finish with storm cleanup today (Tuesday) before moving onto their normal summer duties, such as mowing lawn, paving and repairing asphalt, Dow said.

After flood season, work is already about a month behind normal duties, Dow said.

“We just gotta play catch up,” he said.

The city’s five forestry wood-chipping crews will continue their rounds throughout the summer, he said.

Moorhead and West Fargo also plan to finish collecting branches and tree waste through the end of the week, but will continue until brush is picked up.

Residents should keep hauling brush onto the boulevard as crews continue their routes.

“Whatever they see, they will continue to pick up,” Martin said.

Heidi Shaffer is a reporter at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, which is owned by Forum Communications Co.

Tags: news, fargo, storm, cleanup