Work continues following tornadoes which struck the parish in May

Since the May 19 tornadoes tore through Evangeline Parish, Pat Derouselle with Evangeline Solid Waste said they have picked up most of the tree limbs in Ville Platte and are moving to the outskirts of the city and other areas of the parish. “We picked up 14,800 cubic yards so far. We’ve been working every day, six days a week in the Ville Platte area, and now we’re working out in the parish areas. We started with the worst-hit areas and work to the least. We want to take care of everybody. We’re trying to get to them as fast as we can, and we appreciate the patience,” he said
Derouselle added it is difficult to move quickly because they only have two grapple trucks to work with. After limbs are removed, they are brought to Mamou to burn them at a regulated site. “The storm held us back a lot. It was not a FEMA event because that would have to come with a large amount of loss and property damage, so we didn’t meet the requirements for FEMA.” Derouselle said they are working ten and twelve hour days. Explaining why they burn the limbs instead of putting them in a wood chipper, he said, “We don’t chip anymore because tax collections are down across the parish. It’s less expensive to burn. Every year we have to qualify for our burn site.”
Derouselle added, “I want the parish to know that they can call me if they have questions.” He asked for everyone to remain patient. To report a pick-up for the Solid Waste Commission, call 337-363-7254.