Tree-lined town pays price after Irma: Many still on the ground

Six weeks after Hurricane Irma tore through South Florida, tiny Southwest Ranches is still struggling to dig out from the debris.

The town prides itself on its rural identity and is awash in vegetation — but Hurricane Irma uprooted and snapped much of it.

There are so many downed trees that officials expect the debris removal could continue through December.

“We’re working as fast as we can, but the town is unique in that it has so much vegetation,” said Sandy Luongo, the town’s general services manager.

The massive roots of trees must first be chopped down into a manageable size before they can be hauled away. But some of the subcontractors don’t have the equipment needed to lift the heavy piles and then remove them.

Luongo said the town is running into another problem: Residents are mixing old storm debris with some

that is the result of fresh landscaping.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says the piles must be separated for reimbursement purposes.

“Our crews are going by, but they won’t touch the piles that are mixed,” Luongo said.

Also, FEMA requires at least 80 percent of the homeowners on any private road agree to the debris removal in order for the town to be reimbursed. And those signatures have just started trickling in.

As unsightly as the big piles of debris are, residents have greater concerns.

“It’s the mosquitoes that come from there. They are out of this world,” said Myra Martinez, who lives on Southwest 127th Avenue. “That’s my main concern right now. We can’t go out in the yard anymore because they are everywhere.”

Town officials estimate that more than a third of the 200,000 cubic yards of vegetative debris that fell has been hauled away. The town is 13 square miles.

Weston, Ranches’ neighbor to the north, has cleared all its the public roads in the 25-square-mile city, said City Manager John Flint.

In Davie, Ranches’ neighbor to the east, officials say more than 90 percent of the town’s 350,000 cubic yards of debris has been hauled away.

Other governments are also moving at a quicker pace.

The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County says it has removed about 3 million cubic yards of debris and has approximately 1.1 million cubic yards left to clear.

“We’re currently looking at closing down a couple of our debris disposal sites as the number goes lower,” said Willie Puz, spokesman for the authority.

In Miami-Dade, the Department of Solid Waste Management has hauled away 2.9 million cubic yards. In the days after Irma, officials estimated that 3 million cubic yards of debris were left, but that figure will likely rise as the agency continues with the cleanup, said spokeswoman Gayle Love.

Meanwhile, in Southwest Ranches, six crews with 23 trucks are working 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, to remove debris.

“We are getting there, it may take a bit longer, but we’re getting there,” said Mayor Doug McKay.

TAIMY ALVAREZ/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Southwest Ranches officials say it may take until the end of the year to remove all the debris from Hurricane Irma.

TAIMY ALVAREZ/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Southwest Ranches officials say the small town known for its dense vegetation and trees was hit harder than most in Hurricane Irma.