Storm causes 'tremendous' damage at 4 Nebraska recreation areas, could take year to clean up

Two Rivers, Pawnee, Memphis and Branched Oak were heavily affected by the strong winds, said Jeff Fields, parks division administrator for Nebraska Game and Parks. One person was killed and another injured when a tree fell on a car at Two Rivers.

“Just tremendous tree damage is the underlying theme to this,” Fields said. “Of the four, three had damage to trees and personal property. Campers, vehicles, that sort of thing. We didn’t have any major damage to buildings that I’ve heard so far.”

He has pulled in crews from several divisions to start the cleanup at the recreation areas, which are all located north and west of Lincoln, but some areas will be closed periodically as work is done.

Right now at Two Rivers, located near Waterloo, the Riverside Campground is closed until further notice. Refunds and transfers will be offered. The river day-use area also is closed until further notice.

Cottonwood Campground is closed to walk-ins until Friday. All other campgrounds in the park remain open. It is one of the Game and Parks’ most popular destinations.

The power is on at Branched Oak north of Malcolm, and all sites are available. Power is also available at Pawnee, 4 miles west of Lincoln, where the Area 4 tent sites are closed until further notice.

Memphis had the least damage and no closures.

Fields said he traveled from Lincoln right after the storm blew through to view Pawnee, Branched Oak and Two Rivers. In some places, roads were impassible.

More than 50 people from the state’s venture parks and the horticulture and engineering divisions joined the recreation areas’ regular staff for cleanup on Monday. Because of the big equipment in use, some places had to be restricted.

“We’re focusing on areas of high visitor use and getting to where we can open up campgrounds and get normal operations back,” he said.

Fields said it took a year to do the cleanup at some of the state’s venture parks after last July’s windstorm. He said this weather event was as bad or worse.

“What I am talking about with a year is just cosmetics,” he said. “There are thousands of trees, some of it we may never get to. To get to everything to make the area look good, I think we’ll be at it for a while.”

There’s also long-term effects to monitor with cracked tree limbs and other damage. Because of that, he said it’s hard to put a number on how much the cleanup will cost in the long run.

Game and Parks has a hazardous tree inspection and removal program for its state parks, recreation areas and historical parks. Trees in managed areas, such as campgrounds and trails, are regularly inspected, observations are documented and hazards removed for public safety.

A 100,000-pound cottonwood tree landed on the vehicle at Two Rivers, resulting in the fatality and critical injuries to the other person inside.

Fields, in checking with staff, said there have only been a few fatalities in the park system in the more than 30 years he’s been with the Game and Parks.

“Our condolences and thoughts are with the family involved with the fatality at Two Rivers,” he said.

Fields said his job is to provide the support needed to get the recreation areas back to normal operation as quickly as possible.

He has a great team, he said, that has a lot of experience dealing with the aftermath of storms.

“We appreciate our customers’ patience as we get things cleaned up,” he said. “We’ll do our best to get things open as soon as we can.”