<body><div>Large piles of tree debris, downed telecommunications lines, and blocked sidewalks are still common in Spartanburg’s neighborhoods one month after Tropical Storm Helene.More than 23,500 cubic yards, about 5,000 tons, of debris had been hauled away as of Tuesday in the month following Tropical Storm Helene, according to city Communications Manager Christopher George, but there’s still more to go.“It's really widespread,” George said of the damage seen in the city. “Looking at the map that we have of tree requests, the reported trees fallen in the public right of ways — which says nothing about all the debris we're picking up — there wasn't really any area that was not hit, or especially hit worse than the others.”The city received nearly 400 tree calls following the storm, according to a presentation given at the Oct. 14 City Council meeting.Spartanburg debris removal: Spartanburg leaders talk debris removal from Helene, damages by numbers, lessons learnedRegarding the volume of debris being cleared, George noted that Duncan Park and Converse Heights probably have the most.In the first month following the storm, the city’s main accomplishments were clearing paths for entering and exiting neighborhoods, working with Duke Energy to restore power, repairing traffic lights, and starting the debris-clearing process.Looking forward, George said, finishing debris cleanup and reviewing the early days of the storm are priorities.“This incident will certainly impact all of our planning efforts for these kinds of things moving forward,” George said.<h2>The lights are on, but there’s no internet at home</h2>One of the most common issues city residents still face after the storm is a lack of internet, cable, and home telephone service.City Councilwoman Ruth Littlejohn said on Wednesday that most of her constituents in the South Converse neighborhood were Spectrum customers and, like herself, were still without service.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0VUmUA_0wO80hEg00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0VUmUA_0wO80hEg00" width="960" height="640" ><figcaption>Spartanburg's neighborhoods are cleaning up one month after Helene's high winds and rains passed through the Upstate area. Ruth Littlejohn of Spartanburg City Council District 3 talks about the state of her South Converse neighborhood and how the clean up is going.</figcaption></figure>“The issue that I am hearing now is ‘no service.’ A lot of people are concerned that their internet is not backup or their telephones or their televisions,” Littlejohn said. “They're not able to keep up with the local news and things like that.”The latest estimation from the company for total restoration in Spartanburg is Friday, Oct. 25.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0V0nv7_0wO80hEg00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0V0nv7_0wO80hEg00" width="960" height="592" ><figcaption>Spartanburg's neighborhoods are cleaning up one month after Helene's high winds and rains passed through the Upstate area. This is damage in on Fernwood Road area in Spartanburg; most of this area was underwater days after Helene passed through the area.</figcaption></figure><h2>Debris removal is the city’s main priority</h2>George said the city hopes to have an estimate for when debris pickup will be complete in the next few weeks.“We have contractors we've hired to beef up our efforts,” George said. “That's kind of the main thing we're doing here in the city, just making sure we've got more crews than we could normally put out in the field there.”The crews are working from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, and the cost of hiring them will be reimbursed by FEMA, George said.Multiple passes are planned for each neighborhood to remove all debris, even if it cannot all be brought to the road at once.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0AqKM8_0wO80hEg00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0AqKM8_0wO80hEg00" width="960" height="639" ><figcaption>Spartanburg's neighborhoods are cleaning up one month after Helene's high winds and rains passed through the Upstate area.</figcaption></figure>Patience is encouraged during this process, which is anticipated to be lengthy.“If a team has come through, and they didn't get everything, don't think they're not coming back. They are coming back,” George said of debris cleanup efforts. “If you're not able to put everything on the curb right now because it's already full of debris, don't worry about that. When our teams come by and pick up that debris, just bring the rest of it to the curb.”Debris piles should be kept away from fire hydrants, mailboxes and storm grates.<h2>Preparing for a safe Halloween</h2>Another recent priority for the city was ensuring the safety of families that will be trick-or-treating on Thursday.Two of the most popular neighborhoods for trick-or-treaters, Converse Heights and Hampton Heights, saw many trees downed during the storm. Some sidewalks are also blocked in the neighborhoods, meaning families out walking door to door may sometimes end up walking in the street.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=342r0z_0wO80hEg00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=342r0z_0wO80hEg00" width="960" height="639" ><figcaption>Spartanburg's neighborhoods are cleaning up one month after Helene's high winds and rains passed through the Upstate area. This is damage in Converse Heights neighborhood in Spartanburg.</figcaption></figure>George noted that this year, trick-or-treating in Converse Heights is an official special event, and the city is partnering with the neighborhood association.“Our police team has been working with and our special events team has been working with the neighborhood on some additional safety measures for this year,” George said. “We're just giving a little extra attention to that area this year because of the storm debris, just to make sure that everybody's safe because it is such a popular area for trick-or-treaters.”Some streets will be closed for the event, which will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. on Halloween. Families are encouraged to bring flashlights and to wear or bring reflective items to make themselves more visible while walking.Samantha Swann covers city news, development and culture in Spartanburg. She is a University of South Carolina Upstate and Greenville Technical College alumna. Contact her at sswann@shj.com or on Instagram at @sam_on_spartanburg.This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: What has been done, is left to do in Spartanburg one month after Helene</div></body>

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One month later: Spartanburg removing debris, some residents without internet after Helene

Large piles of tree debris, downed telecommunications lines, and blocked sidewalks are still common in Spartanburg’s neighborhoods one month after Tropical Storm Helene. More than 23,500 cubic yards, about 5,000 tons, of debris had been hauled away as of Tuesday in the month following Tropical Storm Helene, according to city Communications Manager Christopher George, but there’s still more to go.