The city of Herrin Fire Department says they used drones to check out some of the damage to trees in our area.
HERRIN, Ill. (WSIL)-- Local crews spent the day surveying some of the damage caused by a recent winter storm.
Herrin's Fire Department says county officials asked them to use their drone to survey the area for storm damage.
Captain Ryan Rash piloted the drone; he said there’s a lot of storm damage around the area.
“East Clark Trail was particularly hard hit. There was a lot of damage to the trees there. There's still limbs hanging out over the roadway,� Rash said.
Some people in Herrin say they are still seeing a lot of debris a week after the ice storm. One couple walking in town says they've encountered downed trees.
“There are trees down over near where we live. There have been people getting stuck,� Rebecca Sutton said.
Herrin's chief, Shawn Priddy, says the collected information will be sent to the state to see if they can get disaster relief funds.
“Our mission was just to be able to get really good footage and an idea of how much debris is out there for public work so they can put numbers to it,� Priddy said.
Captain Rash says those numbers could lead to funding for special equipment to help pick up the debris.
“To help the city offset the cost of collecting this debris and having it hauled away and destroyed,� Rash said.
Rash says the drone collected a lot of debris images, but they know there's more damage to uncover.
“A lot of it hasn't been seen yet. It's kind of been invisible because it's still covered in ice and snow, but we uncovered quite a bit yesterday,� Rash said.
He tells News 3 that almost everyone in Herrin has been impacted by the storm.
“Whether it's whole trees, limbs, or small branches, everybody seems to have something,� Rash said.
Rash says the drone helps them see areas that still need to be cleaned up, including on East Bryan Street, where a large tree limb is leaning on the roof of an apartment complex.
“We found several trees that were uprooted that have fallen across fences or in backyards. One uprooted tree fell across a carport and crushed a car,� Rash said.
The fire department says it will soon use a drone again to find where more storm damage is located.Â
