Cleanup Begins After Storm Moves Out, Some Companies Cash In

Greensboro -- The rain that soaked the Triad for much of the week is now moving out, but the City of Greensboro warns there's still potential for more downed trees due to wind conditions.

The city's already received reports of 25 downed trees and 20 minor flooding calls and there were six sanitary sewer overflows.

That means there's plenty of cleaning up to be done all over the Piedmont. And while most people probably see it as a pain, others are going to rake in some extra profit.

A number of folks are leaving their cleanup efforts to the weekend, Kenneth Lewis and his fiancé are getting a head start.

"We're just trying to catch up on a little work before, you know, everybody calls at one time," Lewis said.

The couple owns a landscaping business, and thanks to this week's storm they're seeing green because of all the colorful leaves.

"Yes," Lewis said. "We say 'hip, hip, hooray, it's time to make some money.'"

With all the headaches the rain and wind have caused over the last few days, Lewis says the mess is erasing a year's worth of economic frustrations.

"I thank the Lord He's letting them come down, so we can make some money," he said. "You know, the economy's been so rough this year. You've got to get it while you can."

Crews from professional cleanup company AfterDisaster are staying busy, too.

"Most of us have been up 24/7," company President and CEO Lee King said. "A few of us have had a little bit of sleep -- two or three hours."

The company has scheduled about 50 jobs over the last two days, most just like a flooded out basement on Hwy 150 in Guilford County.

On Friday workers were tearing out baseboards and drying up the carpet after four inches of water streamed in.

That's bad news for the homeowner, but good news for the AfterDisaster's bottom line.

"It's good for our business," King said. "But we're sensitive to the fact that no one wants to be a customer of AfterDisaster."

WFMY also checked in with more than a half-dozen tree removal services in the Triad. But, unlike landscapers and clean-up companies, most of them say they haven't seen many calls.

While you're cleaning up this weekend, the City of Greensboro says to remember to keep all your debris behind the curb and out of the street.

Crews will pick up small bundles of yard waste and the city says loose leaf collection is back on schedule.

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