It's the question echoing across Western North Carolina: When will the debris on my property be gone?

For many in Henderson County, the answer cannot come soon enough.

"We don't know how many trees we've lost," said Brenda Cameron, a Hendersonville resident. "We're guessing around 15 — it's overwhelming. Where do you start?"

Cameron and her partner have done about all they can, however, thousands of pounds of wood still sit in their yard.

"Cutting off limbs and making piles; we've taken off limbs and small stuff," she said. "It's beyond my ability to do anything about it — we've got two or three trees still hung up on other trees there."

Because of this, Cameron and others like her have been awaiting Dec. 12.

"They can come in here and apply to have that done for free," Henderson County Disaster Recovery Center Co-Manager Sarah Kowalak explained. "We're anticipating that once people learn about this program, there's going to be a lot of people in Henderson County who need it and will access it."

Henderson County's Private Property Debris Removal Program is for residents like Cameron who can't get what is left to the right of way.

Additionally, fallen trees are not the only things that can be picked up.

"Unsafe structures," Kowalak added. "Maybe it's an outbuilding or the entire home that needs to be demolished and removed from their property. This program is for the maintained portions of your property; it's not for agricultural or forested parts, we're talking about around your home."

Debristech will assist once you have registered; however, you must register in person.

Registration will be offered on Friday and Saturday of this week, but afterward, will switch to Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at the Disaster Recovery Center.

"It's just one piece of the puzzle," Kowalak said. "We've got a lot of different issues that we're helping people with here, but this is a big one that a lot of people are experiencing."

"I was just about skipping," Cameron said. "I felt this huge burden that was sitting on my shoulders — there's somebody out there who's prepared to deal with this."

News 13 asked Cameron if it is easier to deal with debris knowing that help is on the way.

"It is — I don't have to shut it down from my mind looking at it without an idea of how we're going to resolve it," she said.

The address for the Disaster Recovery Center is 2111 Asheville Highway.

 

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSHenderson County's debris removal launches, promising relief for storm-hit homeowners