WASHINGTON — Crews at Prince William Forest Park are getting help as they continue their cleanup after this month’s historic windstorm.
Workers from 15 national parks are assisting with the hard work of clearing trees, repairing downed power lines and assessing damage to historic buildings.
A crew from Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, for instance, helped remove trees from roads. And workers from Rock Creek Park brought a chipper and bucket truck to help remove trees that had fallen on structures. Law enforcement rangers, resource advisers and safety professionals from other national parks are also among those assisting.
In addition, trained volunteer sawyers are helping with fallen-tree removal, as part of an agreement with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. More than 800 fallen or hazardous trees had been cleared as of Tuesday, according to the National Park Service.
The park, which is Northern Virginia’s largest protected natural area, remains closed. Officials hope to reopen it in two weeks.
“Prince William Forest Park is incredibly grateful to all the parks who sent crews and equipment to this incident,” park Superintendent Tanya Gossett said in a park service statement Tuesday. “With the help of extra resources, we are working to reopen the park as quickly as possible.”
Officials are not accepting other volunteer assistance for now because of the dangerous conditions.
The windstorm March 2—3 brought gusts of over 70 mph around the D.C. area.
