Tandem FEMA Trucks Sweeping The Area Clean

The final clean-up of the winter storm Irene is in effect. Up and down the state roads, giant FEMA trucks hauling two trailers are picking up the tangled mess of twigs and branches left beside the road by the storm.

 The landscape of the area was forever changed by the loss of many old trees that added character to some residents yards, but it has been the massive amount of twiggy brush that has continued to scar the local Bethel landscape.

 As the trucks, which are weighted to carry 80,000 pounds each, canvas the area, the side of the roads are finally beginning to look much as they did before the storm.

 Justin O'Dell is here from Missouri and has been driving the FEMA truck throughout Connecticut since November 11. He immediately announced how grateful he has been for the mild weather, which has allowed the clean-up to go quickly.  

Seen in Bethel on Tuesday, O'Dell said, “We've been in this area for 2-3 days but we'll be completely finished in a few weeks.”

 All that debris has to go somewhere and it has been brought to the empty lot near Kennedy Park in Danbury. All day long, the tandem trucks slowly snake their way into the lot, empty the trucks with massive grabber jaws, and then go back out for more of the same.

Amid the swirling dry dust of Jaunuary, a white pick-up truck swings around the wide parking lot. The truck comes to an abrupt halt in front of a tall platform that allows the man atop the platform to look inside at the contents of each truck. Buck Phillips, here from Alabama, looks as if he has just pulled up at his ranch.  He is a man who carries his country spirit wherever he goes.

In a thick Southern accent, he explained that there has to be someone who validates the trucks are doing what they say they are, and bringing in tons of tree trash. Phillips, owner of D & J Enterprises and a US Marine, has been sub-contracting for a larger company. "We have subbed for the DOT and for the State of Connecticut," he said.

The debris is brought in and chipped down to mulch, which will be divided used by the local and state Department of Transportation.

 This year's First Night Celebration in downtown Danbury was forced to abandon their fireworks due to the acres of mulch and debris in that lot, where the fireworks usually are launched.