Officials draft plan to begin debris removal across Cocke County

HEARTFORD, Tenn. (WATE) — While many Cocke County residents are left with piles of debris outside their houses, the national guard is in the area to help clean up.

Guardsman joined the Cocke County Emergency Management Agency’s swift water rescue team on Thursday to move large branches and logs off the Trail Hollow Bridge.

“We’ve got debris like this all over the county there are very few places that were spared anything bordering our rivers it looks just like this,” said EMA Director Joe Esway.

Nearly two weeks after the area was flooded, he said a debris removal plan was drafted for Coke County.

“Everything‘s being done in incremental improvement,” said Esway. “So nothing is being done fast enough for the people of Cocke County, especially when everything that they’ve worked their entire life or sitting on their front lawn right now they got a stare at it every day.”

He said while his team along with multiple other agencies have been working tirelessly to move debris, It has been difficult to coordinate a plan. Now that they have one, he said it will take some time to move everything out.

“It’s all about getting the right people in the right room at the right time and setting clear expectations understanding who is taking care of what you know we’ve got assets on the ground from federal, state, regional, local,” said Esway. “There’s an enormous amount of effort here and if it’s not being coordinated through the emergency operation center the left-hand does it know what the right hand is doing.”

Currently, the immediate mission is to clear debris from bridges in Cocke County so the Tennessee of Department of Transportation can thoroughly inspect them. Once the bridges are cleared, they will move onto residential clean-up. Residents are asked to prepare by sorting debris piles into metal, household items, and vegetation.

“We need to make sure the bridges are safe for traffic to go across, after that then we’re gonna switch the residential on the businesses and make sure their areas are cleaned up,” said Esway. “When we start getting into the residential areas where the resident have placed everything nice and neat in their yards, it will move quickly.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side.