By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Winds from the July 16 storm caused plenty of damage around Great Bend. As city crews prioritize cleaning up the aftermath, that leaves another byproduct of the storm and recent rains to remain unchecked: mosquitos. The city of Great Bend completed a 4-week cycle of spraying for the pests on July 13, and Public Works Director Jason Cauley said it may be a couple of weeks before spraying resumes.
"All of our crews are working on tree cleanup, so it will be suspended until we can get some of this stuff cleaned up," he said. "I know they're really bad at this time, but unfortunately, all of our crews will be tied up with the fire. We're going to be feeding it 24 hours a day. As long as that fire's burning, we have to have people out there watching it. All the rest of our crews are doing tree cleanup."
The city typically uses a horseshoe-shaped pit with a berm for burning at the compost south of town. With the number of limbs, the city now has four piles actively burning. City Administrator Brandon Anderson issued a release ahead of Monday's cleanup effort by the city, and Cauley said that's a reasonable timeline.
"We'll follow his press release and say at a minimum of two weeks," Cauley said. "It's going to take probably that at least to get everything cleaned up. Say two weeks if things go well."
Since June 1, more than 13 inches of rain have fallen at the Eagle Media Center located at 12th and Baker in Great Bend. More than three inches have fallen since July 14.