Volunteers are needed to help clean tornado-stricken areas of Hubbard County.
The June 6 tornados that roared through the Hinds and Pickerel lakes areas left a mess in their wake.
Hubbard County Emergency Management Director David Konshok would like to conduct one last sweep this weekend of both areas to pick up debris that was missed in previous cleanup efforts, and debris that is being disgorged from the lake bottoms.
Several previous efforts have cleaned shorelines, but debris was reportedly scattered throughout the county when the EF-3 tornados hit, packing winds up to 165 mph.
Divers unsuccessfully attempted to find major household items and a travel trailer buried in the muddy bottom of Pickerel Lake, two weeks after the tornados. The dive team was stymied when clouds of silt rose up from the waters, hampering visibility.
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Konshok and county commissioners have discussed the practicality of retrieving major items from the lake floor. The cost would be prohibitive, they agreed.
Inmates sentenced to community service cleaned a major portion of the Hinds Lake shoreline, where debris from the Jennie-O farm near Menahga was scattered when its turkey barns were leveled by the twister that hit there.
The tornado skipped north through the county, cutting a wide swath through forested areas north and east of Park Rapids. Much of the timber has been logged and hauled away. County-owned timber is being auctioned off. Fallen trees on privately owned land were trucked to area lumber mills.
Konshok's office has scheduled a final cleanup day Sept. 27. Interested volunteers and groups can call the Emergency Management office at 732-3135.
Konshok says if any residents know of areas that need to be cleaned, they should contact his office as well.
