Video summary
Following a regional storm that swept through East Kentucky on August 11th, Utility Management Group (UMG) crews were immediately deployed to survey and begin cleanup operations in the Pikeville area. Upon arriving at the scene around Tuesday evening after being dispatched by city authorities, UMG coordinated closely with the Pikeville Fire Department to address significant road blockages caused by fallen trees. The teams worked together to remove approximately eight or nine large trees that had obstructed local roadways, successfully clearing the paths and ensuring public safety so residents could travel freely once again.
The cleanup effort intensified on Wednesday morning when UMG assembled a substantial workforce consisting of four crews with three people each, supported by four trucks, two excavators, and a sweeper truck to handle debris removal efficiently. Although property damage was reported as minimal overall, specific incidents included a house sustaining minor damage in the Peach Orchard area and another home near River View struck by a large fallen tree. Despite these isolated events, UMG maintained a robust response strategy with personnel on standby throughout the day; two individuals remained on call continuously while others stayed until midnight to monitor conditions and deploy additional resources as needed when situations required further assistance.
Beyond physical restoration, the community also received support from the Recovery Resource Center located within the Pike County Health Department, which provided essential guidance and resources for families affected by the storm. UMG emphasized their proactive approach to disaster management, noting that they constantly monitor potential storms in advance to prepare for rapid responses rather than reacting solely after damage occurs. This combination of immediate physical cleanup using heavy machinery, strategic staffing with dedicated on-call teams, and access to community recovery services demonstrates a comprehensive effort to restore normalcy following the weather event.
Read the full video transcript
After a regional storm blew through East
Kentucky, August 11th, Utility
Management Group crews were sent to
survey the Pikeville area and start
cleaning up. They were able to
coordinate with Pikeville Fire
Department to remove several down trees
and open local roadways. Project Manager
Donnie Sloan talks about the ongoing
cleanup effort.
>> When it happened Tuesday evening,
uh dispatch called us, city dispatch,
they called us out. We had
a bunch of trees down and blocking the
road. We got with Pikeville Fire
Department and got out there and we had
I think it's around eight or nine trees
blocking the road. So, between us and
them, we got everything unblocked where
people can travel and be safe. After
that, uh we come in Wednesday morning
and uh got a crew together and we had
about
I guess we had uh
four crews out all together, three
people to crew, and uh we had
uh four trucks, two excavators, and a
sweeper truck and got everything cleaned
up. And we're still out cleaning a
little bit up today.
>> The Recovery Resource Center, located
inside the Pike [music] County Health
Department, offers support, guidance,
and resources for you and your family.
>> [music]
>> Call 509-5500.
That's 509-5500.
Recovery starts here.
>> Property damage following the storm was
minimal with only a few houses getting
hit. UMG has teams that are constantly
monitoring potential storms to prepare
for a response.
>> We don't get into a whole lot, like you
said, property damage, but we did have a
house, I think on Peach Orchard, that
got a little damage and had a large tree
fall on a house down on River View, I
think. We got two people that stays on
call all the time. We got a service guy
for hours that stays on time on on call.
Then we got a guy stays down in town, he
stays in till about 12:00. Those people
monitor everything and then when they
see that we need more people, they start
calling.
And we got people on standby.
>> Reporting for Mountain Top News, I'm
Nick Collam.