(Essex) — Cleanup efforts continue at a recreational area northwest of Essex following Thursday’s severe weather.
Page County Conservation crews have been at work on the north end of Pierce Creek Recreation Area after an EF-1 tornado touched down near Randolph, traveling over 19 miles through Fremont and Page counties before lifting near Nyman. Page County Conservation Director Michelle Spunaugle says much of the recreational area’s damage was concentrated on the park’s north end around the campgrounds.
“It was a lot of tree damage from what I’m seeing and then there was obviously some debris from neighboring houses,” said Spunaugle. “So, Friday we did the smaller stuff and then on Monday we started to tackle some of the larger stuff–the larger branches on the ground, we had one tree that was uprooted, and we’ve also got some big branches up the trees that we tend to (Tuesday). So, I’m hoping here in the next couple of days we’ll be done and that’ll be back open for people.”
However, she says much of the park’s structures along with the equestrian area on the south of the park were spared. Spunaugle adds that they are still encouraging visitors to stay off the trails until they can clear out the campgrounds and get a better assessment of the tree damage.
“From the north campground I can see there’s quite a few (branches) broken off halfway so I want to make sure there’s nothing out there impending people from getting on those trails and doing it safely,” she said. “So, I’m hoping here in the next couple of days I’ll be able to get out there, assess what’s going on, and get those cleared out too. So, it’s kind a of ‘please don’t go out there on them’ just incase there is fallen trees and things.”
Spunaugle also commended the work of the department’s seasonal employees in cleaning up the debris over the last few days.
“I wouldn’t be able to do this all by myself, just getting the equipment over there is hard enough with a tractor, a dump trailer, and a couple of trucks with chainsaws and things,” Spunaugle emphasized. “So, if it wasn’t for those guys that work seasonally for me, it would be very difficult to get this all cleaned up–they’re a huge part of getting things back up to running order.”
Spunaugle adds that she will continue to provide updates on the Page County Conservation Facebook page for when the north Pierce Creek campgrounds and subsequent trails are safe for the public to access. Spunaugle noted that the water had been turned back on at most of the county’s campgrounds, including Pierce Creek, just days before Thursday’s tornado.
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