CSRA () – On Thursday, the Savannah District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that a contractor will commence debris removal at the recreation areas of J. Strom Thurmond Lake following Hurricane Helene, beginning on July 18, 2025.

The contractor, AshBritt, Inc., is set to clear hazardous trees, stumps, and other plant debris within a 10-foot radius of park facilities and a 20-foot perimeter around roads and parking areas.

According to the Corps, visitors can expect intermittent park closures as they work through the parks.

“These parks are crucial to our community’s health and well-being,” stated Chrissy Alford, Park Operations Manager for the USACE Savannah District. “We are thankful for this significant progress in recovering our parks from the severe impact of Hurricane Helene.”

Visitors are encouraged to stay clear of active recovery areas and stay out of closed parks or parks that appear to have work in progress. People are also advised to refrain from entering areas marked with ‘Area Closed’ and ‘No Trespassing’ signs and stay away from debris removal activities.

“We appreciate the public’s patience as crews work to remove debris and mitigate health and safety risks on Corps property.” said Thurmond Lake Operations Project Manager, Tammy Cleveland. “Safety remains our top priority.”

The Corps stated that 41 of 51 recreation areas are now open or partially open to the public.

This latest cleanup recovery at Thurmond Lake is being made possible using the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads (ERFO) funding received in June 2025.

More information about the storm recovery process can be found at the Hurricane Helene Recovery webpage.