At the Anchorage Wood Lot, operations manager Ryan Stencel is bracing for a busy Saturday as homeowners truck countless windblown trees to be ground into mulch or handed out as free firewood.
Stencel estimates people have already hauled about 1,000 trees to the lot, with 300 truckloads arriving Thursday alone. The lot is near C and Klatt streets and is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
The Eagle River Wood Lot will be open through Sept. 15. The lot was slated to close for the summer on Sept. 1. But, said Anchorage Fire Department forester John See, officials decided to extend summer operations for an additional two weeks to receive solid wood debris from the recent windstorm.
The Eagle River lot is located at the Anchorage Regional landfill just off Hiland Road and will be open Fridays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The lot can receive tree limbs, trunks and attached leaves. Wood pieces must be no longer than 6 feet and, said See. Bagged leaves or branches will not be accepted. Those should be taken to the landfill, he said.
The Eagle River lot and one in Girdwood (open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday) are free for residential users. There is a charge for using the Anchorage lot. Trash is not accepted at any of the locations.
Further adjustments or extensions to wood lot openings may be forthcoming, See said. "It's going to be kind of a fluid thing until we see how the cleanup is going," he said.
Stencel said it seems no tree was safe from the early season winds, from springy saplings to sturdy hardwoods. "I've got everything from apple trees to spruce. A lot of birch."
One woman carried a 6-foot-tall rose bush. The wind snapped it at the base, she said. A gardener, Stencel offered her condolences.
Reach Mike Dunham at mdunham@adn.com or 257-4332.
By MIKE DUNHAM and KYLE HOPKINS
Anchorage Daily News