BELLA VISTA, Ark. — Residents in the city of Bella Vista are still working to recover following Friday night's severe thunderstorms that rolled through Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley.
"We noticed that we had a lot of debris and downed trees," resident Ginger Johnson said. "Our building was damaged, and then we went across the road and we noticed there were trees in the road."
Cpl. Haley Lyons with the Bella Vista Police Department said the city received over 50 storm-related calls over the weekend. She said there were no reported injuries.
Lyons added that crews from the Bella Vista police and fire departments as well as Carroll Electric have worked all weekend to clear roads of storm debris and restore residents' power.
All residents in the Bella Vista community who spoke with 5NEWS Monday said their power had been restored by that time.
Still, members of the community worked to clean up their yards and help their neighbors.
"This has really brought our neighborhood together, and we're just so thankful that we have great neighbors, and people really care about each other," Johnson said.
Bella Vista resident Jim Tandy said he was home when a 50-foot tree split in half, falling to two separate sides. It barely missed his house. Right after, a pine tree in his yard also fell. He said he is going to miss the shade provided by the tree.
"I know my electric bills are going to go up," Tandy said.
The City of Bella Vista announced it will pick up storm debris in the area west of US Highway 71.
The collection for residential areas will begin Monday, Aug. 26. The city will pass by each street in the area once and only pick up woody debris. Any yard waste, such as grass clippings and leaves, will not be accepted. Residents are asked not to place debris in bags, trash cans, or containers.
Items not accepted:
- Stumps
- Root balls
- Construction materials
- Household trash
- Non-woody debris
- Debris more than 10 feet
In the meantime, the city asks residents to move any debris they can out of the right-of-way by Monday. Residents are also asked to place debris within 10 feet of the road edge in "manageable piles" and avoid clogging ditches or culverts.
The city reminds residents that there is no place to dispose of debris in Bella Vista, and those who do not wish to wait for the pickup must contact Benton County Solid Waste at 479-795-0751.
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