The City of Duluth released an official storm response and restoration brief on Friday, updating the public on the city's recovery process and offering advice for debris removal and other resources. This brief will be updated with new information as things change.

Here are the highlights of the brief from Friday:

As of Friday (July 22) all major roads have been cleared of fallen trees and debris, but many side streets are still being cleared. The City has about 6 crews at any given time working on clearing streets. If you see debris set on a boulevard by city staff, it will be picked up later by city staff.

The latest information Minnesota Power has made available (via press release) explains that by early Friday morning, power had been restored to 19,000 of the 46,000 left without power after yesterday's efforts. "Significant progress" was projected to have been made in the Duluth area through the day on Friday as crews from Missouri arrived to help crews already on the scene working to restore power. It is still projected power may not fully be restored until sometime late this weekend or possibly early next week if all goes as planned. Any downed lines should be treated as live, and should not be approached by the public. Trees and debris touching downed lines should not be touched.

If you have debris you need to remove or dispose of:

The city is still assessing other debris options for residents. In the meantime, You can drop off storm debris (tree parts from the storm only, no household items, other yard waste, or garbage) across from Marshall School on Rice Lake Road between 8 am and 6 pm July 22 though July 24 only.

WLSSD does accept yard waste and food waste as well. If you have spoiled food from power outages or tree debris, you can bring it to WLSSD, if you follow the guidelines provided. A couple key things to know:

  • Yard waste (twigs/brush) can be brought to the WLSSD Yard Waste Compost Site at 27th Ave W or the WLSSD Materials Recovery Center on Rice Lake Road at a cost of $8/yard. Debris from Wisconsin cannot be accepted.
  • Food waste (spoiled food from power outages) can be brought to any of a number of food waste drop sites, including the Yard Waste Compost Site and Materials Recovery Center. You can see the full food waste drop-off sites and guidelines here.
  • Other Debris (shinges/building materials/other debris) can be brought to the WLSSD Materials Recovery Center on Rice Lake Road at a cost of $22/yard.

Other collection options are being considered by the city still at this time.

More From MIX 108