Benton County needs more volunteers after devastating storms

Benton County Emergency Management officials say they've only cut through the first layer of work following last Monday's storm.

The storm system produced straight-line winds of more than 100 mile per hour.  Roofs were blown off, power lines severed and in Vinton, about 75 percent of the town's trees were destroyed.

Now the county estimates it's only finished about 10 to 15 percent of the clean-up effort.

“This is a very long, drawn-out process,” said Jason White, information officer for Benton County Emergency Management.  “It was just so wide and so much damage was done.”

White says the number of volunteers dropped off after the weekend, but with so much to be done and a heat wave moving in, the county is asking for people to stick it out until the job is done.

“There's really no timetable you can put on it, because there's so much to do,” White said.

White says EMA wants to be sure they reach people in the rural parts of the county.

“They're just out there in the county where you don't see it as easily, but they still need the help and we need to get it to them,” said White.

Staging centers are being used to stay connected to the volunteers sending them wherever help is needed, and right now it seems to be everywhere.

“We need all the volunteers we can get,” said Tim Malott, who was managing volunteer groups Monday from a staging area in Vinton.  “We've got tree limbs down everywhere.  They're putting them on the side of the street. It's just an endless job right now, but it will have an end.”

One group of volunteers from Bettendorf answered the call for help, bringing with them an invaluable skill.  They're self-professed professional tree climbers, scaling trees with nothing more than a rope and harness, taking down hanging limbs and branches.

“We met some of the people who own houses,” said James Sullivan with Advantage Trees.  “They're just appreciative, just happy to have us help out.”

You don't need to be a professional tree climber to help.

Emergency management says they'll take anyone willing to pick up branches, limbs and just work – and there is plenty of work to be done.

The Salvation Army has opened a cooling center preparing for the hot week of work ahead.

If you want to help, EMA says to call United Way 211.