Selectmen said they would see if the cleanup time could be extended through the end of July.
WILBRAHAM – Residents of Beebe Road asked the selectmen to extend until the end of July the period during which debris is picked up from the June 1 tornado from tree belts.
Selectmen said they will ask the Federal Emergency Management Association, which is endorsing continuing the cleanup through the end of July.
An environmental cleanup company, Ashbritt Environmental of Florida, is doing the cleanup work from the tree belts. The work will be reimbursed by FEMA. Residents have to get the debris to the tree belts and it will be picked up.
Donna Morrison of 100 Beebe Road told selectmen that the 2½-acre lot that surrounds her house on Beebe Road is covered with overturned stumps that are filling up with water.
“There are a lot of downed limbs on my property,” she said. “They are starting to turn into a fire hazard.”
Morrison said she is trying with the help of her extended family to get the downed limbs and stumps to the tree belt, but it is taking a lot of time.
Selectmen said Ashbritt Environmental originally estimated the cleanup would go for 60 days from the date of the tornado, but the work has been going faster than the company expected.
FEMA now is projecting completing work in Wilbraham by July 12, Wilbraham Department of Public Works Director Edmond W. Miga said.
Selectman James E. Thompson said for some residents in town, the tornado “ravaged their property.”
“It is not easy for residents to keep up with this schedule,” Thompson said.
He said that on upper Tinkham Road and Beebe Road there is still a lot of work remaining to be done.
Selectmen said they will seek a commitment from FEMA to extend the cleanup period through the end of July.