Eleven days after the Aug. 11 windstorm toppled trees across Hilliard, city crews are still working zone by zone through neighborhoods, and residents need to know exactly what goes to the curb, what doesn't and when.
Here's the breakdown, according to the city's storm response page and a Columbus Navigator guide published Aug. 18.
If crews haven't reached your neighborhood yet
Place branches and limbs along the curb. No Hilliard Helps ticket is needed. Crews will collect them as they work through the area.
As of Aug. 17, crews had finished the Blue Zone and moved into the Purple Zone, Britton Farms and Carrington Place. The Green Zone was next. The city's page was last updated Friday, Aug. 21, but no newer zone-progress text was available.
If crews already passed your street
Submit a Hilliard Helps ticket at hilliardohio.gov/hilliardhelps and crews will make another pass.
Monday chipper service (through Thursday, Sept. 24)
Hilliard's regular on-demand chipper runs every Monday through Thursday, Sept. 24. Requests must be submitted by 2:30 p.m. the Friday before the desired pickup. The rules:
- Limbs longer than 4 feet or thicker than 4 inches go in the tree lawn (the strip between curb and sidewalk).
- Logs bigger than 10 inches in diameter are not accepted at all.
- Smaller branches (2 inches or less) go out with Tuesday yard waste collection, bundled no larger than 4 feet by 2 feet.
Drop-off site
Residents who don't want to wait can haul storm debris to the chipper drop-off site at 3790 Municipal Way, in the parking lot west of the Public Service Building. The site accepts fallen trees, large limbs and branches from the Aug. 11 storm only. It does not accept leaves, lawn clippings, small branches or other routine yard waste.
Ohio Mulch also takes clean yard waste free at two Franklin County locations: 4120 Roberts Road (614-921-9330) and 1600 Universal Road (614-445-4455). No soil, treated lumber or plastic bags.
How the cleanup started
Public Service Director Kyle Hoyng was among the crews out Aug. 12, the morning after the storm. "The priority was definitely trying to open roads up and make sure vehicles were able to kind of get through through the different arterials," Hoyng told Fox 28 that day. Once roadways were clear, crews shifted to residential neighborhoods.
As we reported Aug. 21, Franklin County Emergency Management is also asking residents to submit damage reports to document the storm's impact.
What to do next
- Non-hazardous tree blocking a road: Call 614-876-7321.
- Need another chipper pass: Submit a Hilliard Helps ticket.
- Next chipper request deadline: 2:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, for Tuesday, Sept. 1 pickup.
