Cedar City continues cleanup after Mother’s Day snowstorm

Fallen tree branches and limbs line the streets, Cedar City, Utah, May 16, 2014 | Photo taken by Kevin Robison, St. George News

CEDAR CITY – The Cedar City community and city officials continue to help with cleanup after Sunday’s snowstorm, leaving fallen tree branches and limbs in yards and roads.

While cleanup efforts are going well and progress has been made, there is still much that has to be done.

“We’re hoping that most of it will be completed by the end of next week,” Cedar City Manager Rick Holman said.

Heavy, wet snow hits Cedar City, Utah, May 11, 2014 | Photo taken by Kevin Robison, St. George News
Heavy, wet snow hits Cedar City, Utah, May 11, 2014 | Photo taken by Kevin Robison, St. George News

The storm hit Cedar City after its annual spring cleanup. During this cleanup citizens are allowed to put branches and debris out on the street for transport. The spring cleanup takes approximately three weeks to complete.

“If we were to have done this all by ourselves with the street crew, we would have been months doing this,” Holman said, “The community has stepped up tremendously and just given of their time and resources to assist with this.”

The large amount of debris and destruction to trees is unique and unexpected.

“We’ve kind of estimated that all of the debris from this storm is probably six or seven times the amount of material that we typically do during spring cleanup,” Holman said.

Because of its involvement in other city responsibilities – typically taking place after the spring cleanup – Cedar City maintenance and street crews have asked the help of community members.

“The participation from the community has been phenomenal,” Maile Wilson, mayor of Cedar City, said. “It’s a job that not one group could do on their own, just because of the magnitude of tree branches that have been in the road.“

Although the mayor and City Council members have been organizing and participating in cleanup efforts, they are thankful for the increased manpower of Cedar City citizens.

Heavy, wet snow hits Cedar City, Utah, May 11, 2014 | Photo taken by Kevin Robison, St. George News
Heavy, wet snow hits Cedar City, Utah, May 11, 2014 | Photo taken by Kevin Robison, St. George News

“Cedar City people are pretty special,” Paul Cozzens, Cedar City councilman said, “When things need to get done we have a spirit of volunteerism and a work ethic that I think is unmatched.”

The storm is a hardship, but the cleanup efforts have brought people to work together through a common goal, Cozzens said.

Cedar City resident Pete Tovar along with his neighborhood helped with cleanup efforts in his area.

“It was pretty cool, we had a good turnout, we all had a good time and we were able to help the community also,” Tovar said. “Like they say, many hands make light work.”

According to the Cedar City website, the Cedar City Pit is still accepting limbs and branches free of charge on weekdays during daylight hours. The pit will be also be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

The Cedar City Pit is located on Lund Highway, north of state Route 56. City crews continue to work throughout the city in the cleanup effort.

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1 Comment

  • San May 17, 2014 at 8:54 am

    Parowan too…I have heard it’s terrible but the locals are handing it pretty well. My mother in law said that all she hears is chainsaws, all day long.

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