The pile of trees, bushes and debris just keeps growing.
Throughout the workday, every day, trucks and trailers pull up to the field south of Reems Creek Road, near Pink Fox Cove Road. There, they are first examined, then enter the computer. Then each car dumps its contents, adding to the ever-growing pile of branches, sticks, leaves and tree trunks. As of Thursday, the pile had reached 19,324 cubic yards, and was growing at about 2,300 cubic yards per day.
A huge pile of debris, collected from areas devastated by Tropical Storm Helene – has sparked rumors and speculation among neighbors and on the internet. Concerned citizens took to social media to ask questions about what will happen to this accumulation of carbon by chloroplasts.
“We’ve heard all the stories – there’s a pile of debris the size of 10 football fields and that we’re going to go there and light a game and it’s going to be a huge fire,” said David “Scottie” Harris, fire chief. city manager of the town of Weaverville. “I grew up in the country, and you’d go to a cow patch and you’d have a fire and I think that’s what people think it’s going to look like!”
Scottie Harris, Weaverville Interim Town Manager and Fire Chief, talks about the growing pile of debris from Tropical Storm Helene being collected in a field on Reems Creek Road, in Weaverville, NC on Wednesday, November 21, 2024. The town plans to build a burn pit and use an Air Curtain Destructor to burn the debris. .
The reality is more prosaic, more organized, more environmentally friendly and, arguably, less fun, said Roger Dail, project manager for Southern Disaster Recovery, or SDR, a company tasked with collecting and disposing of hundreds, if not thousands. Tons of things were brought and killed by Helene.
The SDR plans to use an “air incinerator” to slowly burn the waste, possibly over several weeks, in what the Dail has described as an economical, efficient and environmentally friendly solution.
The windshield wiper is just a big fan, said Dail, who is a retired fire marshal. Contractors dig a deep pit, in which they set fire to a load of wood and debris. The fire is lit by a strong fan and by continuously adding new loads of wood and organic material from the pile. The air curtain raises the temperature of the fire so that it reduces ash and burns more quickly with less smoke, Dail said.
Roger Dail, Southern Disaster Recovery project manager, describes the plan for a large pile of debris from Tropical Storm Helene being collected in a field on Reems Creek Road, in Weaverville, NC on Wednesday, November 21, 2024. The town plans to build a burn pit and use an Air Curtain Destructor to burn the debris.
Dail added that the burning of materials will only occur on days designated as appropriate by the North Carolina Division of Air Quality.
“We check the weather every day,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s going to be what they’re hoping it’s going to be,” Daiil said of residents’ concerns about smoke and ash. “I won’t say there is no smoke, but there is a little smoke.
Those promises don’t convince neighbors like Avi Sommerville, whose house overlooks the site of the burn pit. Somerville said he had heard promises from local officials, and was disappointed. Somerville asked why the waste is not taken to a remote location, away from people’s homes, and stored or simply left on the ground to decompose.
“How many pairs of lungs are necessary for a town to save money?” Sommerville said.
Harris also sought to downplay any concerns. Residents of the nearby area can smell what appears to be a campfire going on, he said. But because the fire will be very hot, and because only plants are being burned, the smoke and smell should be kept to a minimum, he said.
A worker prepares to unload debris from Tropical Storm Helene to a growing pile of debris in a field on Reems Creek Road, in Weaverville, NC on Wednesday, November 21, 2024. The town is planning to build an incinerator and use an Air Curtain Destructor to burn the debris.
Huddled in the snow while waiting for her grandchildren to drop out of school, Sarajane Duryea, who faces the ever-growing pile, said the burning option seemed like the best option on the worst list of options.
“I just want to support anyone who can help us out here,” Duryea said. “I trust them – it’s just organic material!”
Sarajane Duryea, a local resident, shares her thoughts on the growing pile of debris from Tropical Storm Helene, being collected in a field on Reems Creek Road, in Weaverville, NC on Wednesday, November 21, 2024.
But some residents still have questions: How long will this heat continue? What will happen to the remaining ashes? Wouldn’t the smoke be that bad?
Harris said he is confident the town made the right decision in a difficult situation. And he confirmed that although the Reems Creek Road site has been approved as a waste collection point, a burning permit has not yet been issued.
Dail said he expects the heat to start the second week after Thanksgiving.
This article originally appeared on the Asheville Citizen Times: Helene: Weaverville waste pile to burn using ‘air curtain’.