Dothan crews continue Isaias debris cleanup nearly four weeks after landfall

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) - Storm cleanup crews in Dothan are still working nearly four weeks after Hurricane Isaias made landfall, and debris piles remain along several city streets.

The city’s Environmental Services Division continues to work through a list of sites. Crews are logging extra hours and days to clear roads, but complications persist.

Director Steven Burgess said crews have collected about 17,000 cubic yards of waste. He said that is about 30% of what the city collected during Hurricane Michael.

“So we’re getting there; it’s just a slow go,” Burgess said.

Officials are returning to normal daily routes so residents in all neighborhoods see active crews.

“What’s been happening prior to that was, we were in one area for multiple days just because there was so much volume. And that was necessary right after the storm. But now we feel like we can go back to our daily routes,” Burgess said.

Burgess said crews are working to keep the public informed, with a focus on reaching senior citizens about what’s next.

“So, there’s no one platform that this gets out on. So, we’re just trying to spread the information across multiple platforms,” Burgess said.

Burgess said the process will take multiple collection passes.

“We’re just asking everybody to make sure that you’re keeping your waste separated,” Burgess said. “We want the clean waste on one pile and then the dirty waste, any of your furniture, appliances or bulky items on another. This helps us in our permitted burning operations that we’re doing with the actual storm debris.”

Burgess said he hopes to clear all remaining debris within the next three weeks, using weekends to target heavy debris areas.

Download the WTVY News4 app to get alerts and stories the moment they are published. Available for FREE in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store!