More Guard Support To Aid In Clean-Up

Putnam County Emergency Officials hope to get heavy equipment in place Tuesday to assist in debris cleanup.

County Public Safety Coordinator Brandon Smith said volunteers made a lot of progress in the area again Monday.

“We’re trying to get the National Guard in here, hopefully, tomorrow (Tuesday),” Smith said. “They’ll start moving in heavy equipment to get the heavy debris out.”

Meantime, the county working on the bid process for a professional cleanup company to assist with debris removal. Smith said they expect that by the end of the week.

The National Guard first arrived Wednesday following Governor Bill Lee’s first visit to Putnam Country. Troops from across the state have helped with cleanup as well as search and rescue in the early days.

More than 2-thousand volunteers worked in the Highway 70 corridor both Saturday and Sunday to assist with cleanup.

“You can’t imagine the impact,” Smith said. “It’s really gone well so far and we really appreciate everyone coming in to help.”