The pile of trees, bushes and organic debris just keeps getting bigger.
Throughout the work day, every day, trucks and trailers pull up to the field just south of Reems Creek Road, near Pink Fox Cove Road. There, they are first inspected, then logged in the computer system. Then each vehicle dumps its cargo, adding it to the ever-growing pile of branches, logs, leaves and tree trunks. As of Thursday, the mound had reached 19,324 cubic yards, and was growing at about 2,300 cubic yards a day.
The huge pile of organic debris, gathered from sites hard-hit by Tropical Storm Helene — has spawned rumor and speculation among neighbors and on the internet. Troubled residents have taken to social media to ask questions about what will become of this massive collection of carbon and chloroplasts.
“We’ve heard all the stories — there’s a debris pile of ten football fields and that we’re gonna go out there and just light a match and it’s gonna be a big bonfire,” said David “Scottie” Harris, fire chief and interim town manager of the Town of Weaverville. “I grew up in the country, and you’d go out to the cow patch and have a bonfire and I think that’s what people envision it’s gonna look like!”
Scottie Harris, Weaverville Interim Town Manager and Fire Chief, talks about the growing pile of organic debris from Tropical Storm Helene that is being collected in a field off Reems Creek Road, in Weaverville, NC on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2024. The town plans to build a build a burn pit and use an Air Curtain Destructor to burn the debris.
The reality is much more prosaic, much more organized, more environmentally friendly and, arguably, a bit less fun, said Roger Dail, project manager for Southern Disaster Recovery, or SDR, the company tasked with gathering and disposing of hundreds, if not thousands of tons of organic matter killed by Helene.
SDR plans to employ an “air curtain destructor” to burn the debris gradually, probably over several weeks, in what Dail described as an economical, practical and relatively environmentally friendly solution.
An air curtain destructor is essentially just a big fan, said Dail, who is a retired fire marshal. Contractors dig a deep pit, in which they set alight a load of logs and debris. The blaze is fueled with the strong fan and by continually adding new loads of wood and organic matter from the pile. The air curtain raises the temperature of the fire so much that it minimizes ash and burns exceptionally quickly with very little smoke, Dail said.
Roger Dail, project manager for Southern Disaster Recovery, explains the plan for a large pile of organic debris from Tropical Storm Helene that is being collected in a field off Reems Creek Road, in Weaverville, NC on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2024. The town plans to build a build a burn pit and use an Air Curtain Destructor to burn the debris.
Dail added that the burning of material will only take place on days designated appropriate by the North Carolina Division of Air Quality.
“We monitor the air conditions every day,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s going to be what they’re expecting it to be,” Dail said of the concerns from local residents about smoke and ash. “I won’t say there’s not any smoke, but there’s very little smoke.”
Those assurances don’t convince neighbors like Avi Sommerville, whose home overlooks the burn pit site. Somerville said she has heard promises from local authorities before, and been disappointed. Somerville questioned why the debris can’t be taken to a remote location, away from people’s homes, and mulched or simply laid down to decompose naturally.
“How many pairs of lungs are worth the town saving the money?” Sommerville said.
Harris also sought to tamp down any concerns about the effort. Local residents nearby may certainly smell what appears to be a campfire burning, he said. But because the fire will be so hot, and because only vegetation is being burned, smoke and smells should be kept to a minimum, he said.
A contractor gets ready to unload organic debris from Tropical Storm Helene to a growing pile of debris in a field off Reems Creek Road, in Weaverville, NC on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2024. The town plans to build a build a burn pit and use an Air Curtain Destructor to burn the debris.
Huddled up against the cold as she waited for her grandchildren to be dropped off from school, Sarajane Duryea, who lives overlooking the ever-growing pile, said the burning option appears to be a good one in a bad list of choices.
“I just like to support whatever anybody can do to help us out here,” Duryea said. “I trust them — it’s just organic material!”
Sarajane Duryea, an area resident, shares her thoughts on the growing pile of organic debris from Tropical Storm Helene, that is being collected in a field off Reems Creek Road, in Weaverville, NC on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2024.
But other residents still have questions: How long will the burning go on for? What will happen to the ash that is left behind? Will the smoke really not be that bad?
Harris said he is confident the town has made the right choice in difficult circumstances. And he stressed that while the Reems Creek Road site location has been permitted as a debris collection site, the burning permit has not yet been issued.
Dail said he expects the burning to begin by around the second week after Thanksgiving.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Helene: Weaverville pile of debris to burn using ‘air curtain’ method
