Debris Clogs Streets and Gutters Weeks After Winds Buffeted Area

Those who suffered through 30 hours without electricity or passable roadways knew that the effects of the ravaging early January windstorm were bound to linger, but . . . well, enough already.

Three weeks after 70- to 120-mph winds uprooted trees and whipped away power lines in the San Gabriel Valley, tree bark and palm fronds still cover residential sidewalks and line street gutters.

Many residents, under the impression their cities will clean up private property debris, have dumped stockpiles of kindling onto their curbs. But unless a resident’s bramble fortress is a collection of branches from the city’s own trees, such as those in parks or along sidewalks, city officials from Altadena to Alhambra are telling homeowners to take care of their own windfall: Between downed power lines and public trees, the cities already have too much to handle.

“For debris that fell in property owners’ yards, it’s the property owners’ responsibility,” said Pasadena City Manager Phil Hawkey. “We’re getting items on the curbs mixed in with tree limbs--things like sofas and couches. I don’t know where they came from; they probably fell out of the trees.”

Ottomans may not fall from the sky, but, according to many residents, if they’re on the curb the city should remove them.

“Well, if they’re not going to pick that up, they’re going to have to look at that for quite a long time,” said H. Crays, 77, of Pasadena, pointing to the pile of lemon tree branches that take up a chunk of street where a parking space should be.

The crackling palm fronds in Crays’ gutter belong to the city, and when workers come to pick them up, the 20-year Cooley Street resident said, she hopes they scoop up her lemon tree fallout too.

Hawkey estimated that the eight-week cleanup project will cost $1 million, including the cost of repairing electrical power systems.

In South Pasadena, where several structures were smashed by uprooted trees and utility poles, an estimated $200,000 was tossed to the wind, said Jim VanWinkle, director of public works. And officials said Los Angeles County spent approximately $650,000 to drag fallout from unincorporated areas of the San Gabriel Valley, including parts of Altadena and La Canada Flintridge, which saw some of the worst damage.

To pay for the remaining cleanup, Assemblyman Bob Margett (R-Arcadia) sent a formal request to Gov. Pete Wilson on Thursday, asking him to proclaim a state of emergency throughout the county, said Sean Doherty, a spokesman for the assemblyman.

When the storm hit Jan. 5 and 6, some workers put in 12 hours a day, wrestling live telephone wires and lifting old oaks out of living rooms, Hawkey said.

A Marine reserve base in Pasadena even deployed some of its troops to lend a hand. “So far they’ve been able to devote one weekend,” Hawkey said. “There were about 15 people and five trucks.”

Civilians also pitched in to make the cities’ jobs easier--like the plumber in South Pasadena who rolled down Marengo Avenue in his flatbed truck, hauling off any tree limbs in the way of traffic, and the myriad of homeowners who piled branches off sidewalks into neat little piles.

VanWinkle said citizen aid helped speed up South Pasadena’s recovery. Upon revving up their saws on Monterey Road and chopping up the last of the city’s felled trees, workers on Thursday completed the cleanup.

Pasadena still has a projected five weeks left before recovery is complete, and many residents are getting anxious.

“It is kind of embarrassing,” said David Mathews, looking out at Queensberry Road from his Pasadena porch. Massive bundles of brambles have made an obstacle course of his street. Small sticks lace the recently ripped-up asphalt where fallen power lines were replaced. Observing the mess, Mathews said he is trying to be patient.

“We were told it’s going to take a long time . . . to get cleaned up,” he said. “But it’s pretty unsightly.”