Erie City Council has allocated $4 million to pay for cleanup from the Sept. 2-3 windstorm that brought down as many as 1,000 trees in the city.
The money will pay for employee overtime, contracted services and other storm-related costs.
The $4 million will come from unallocated funds in the city’s general and refuse department budgets.
“This is not operating money. These are savings. This is our rainy day fund,” Erie Mayor Daria Devlin told council members during a pre-meeting caucus on Sept. 16.
Council unanimously approved the allocations.
“I never felt so good about spending city money,” Councilman Andre Horton said, for results “we get to see right here, right now and that have in-your-face impact.”
The storm: Severe storm, high winds cause widespread damage in city
The city is meticulously tracking cleanup costs and will apply to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency for reimbursement, Devlin said.
“PEMA was here and did a full assessment (of the damage) and we have every reason to believe that we are going to get reimbursed for these expenses,” Devlin said.
‘Huge amount of damage and devastation’
Strong winds in the overnight storm brought down an estimated 800 to 1,000 trees in the city, blocking 152 streets, mainly on Erie’s lower west side, Devlin told council.
The downed trees also blocked sidewalks, brought down utility lines, and damaged homes, businesses and vehicles.
Every city park was affected by the storm, Devlin said, with the worst damage at Frontier, Columbus and Gridley parks. Frontier Park remains closed.
A fierce storm into the early morning of Sept. 3, 2026, uprooted large trees throughout the city of Erie, including on Bayview Avenue, at the foot of Lincoln Avenue.
“There’s a huge amount of damage and devastation, even after the storm,” Devlin said.
Public works crews have been clearing streets, sidewalks and parks and hauling debris to the city’s compost site on Port Access Road. Special neighborhood pickups of downed limbs and other small vegetative debris began this week.
Storm cleanup: Erie schedules tree-limb removal services
The city so far has collected an estimated 15,500 cubic yards of tree debris.
The compost site is at capacity and a significant amount of debris cleared from roads and walkways is yet to be collected.
“We’re out of room,” Devlin said. “If we don’t start grinding and getting rid of the wood chips, we can’t bring anything else in. And if you drive around the city, you’ll see that there’s still a lot (of debris) that has to be picked up.”
Some of the downed trees waiting for chipping and removal at the Erie compost facility on Port Access Road is shown on Sept. 17.
Erie City Council on Sept. 16 also unanimously approved contracts to grind and remove wood at the compost site.
S. St. George Enterprises of Fredonia, New York, will provide equipment and crews to grind the wood. Costs will depend on the equipment and hours required.
XL Excavating of Cambridge Springs and Keystone TreeCycling of Spartansburg will haul away the wood chips after the trees are ground. Costs will be based on the number of cubic yards of chips removed from the site.
‘Truly exceptional’ work and help
City officials thanked employees, local businesses, community members, legislators and neighboring municipalities for their work and assistance in storm response and recovery.
City employees located, mapped and continue to clear debris; are tracking cleanup costs; and fielding calls, including 923 calls from residents reporting downed trees or seeking assistance for damages, Devlin said.
The mayor presented a commendation to city public works staff for “outstanding service and dedication to the residents of Erie” in the storm’s aftermath.
Erie’s fire department responded to 121 calls in 12 hours during and after the storm. City police helped direct traffic from blocked streets and at intersections where traffic signals were without power.
“This was an incredible group effort by a number of people who literally worked around the clock to make sure that we got from safety to management to recovery” during and after the storm, Devlin said.
Storm aftermath: Erie residents can find recovery help Sept. 17-19 at resource hub
Erie Insurance and Red Letter Hospitality provided food for city public works staff. Erie County Executive Christina Vogel and state legislators reached out to offer help, and community members pitched in, Devlin said.
Summit and Harborcreek townships sent crews and equipment to help with the cleanup. “It was an incredibly neighborly thing to do,” Devlin said.
Millcreek Township agreed to help with some of the compost removal.
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Toppled trees damaged houses on Bayview Drive at the foot of Lincoln Avenue in Erie during a powerful storm that ended in the early morning of Sept. 3, 2026. (ED PALATTELLA/ERIE TIMES-NEWS)
Council members also expressed thanks to all who helped and are still helping with the storm recovery.
“To watch our team and the neighborhood teams and others who came in was truly inspiring and very humbling,” City Council President Tyler Titus said. “I cannot thank all of you enough. You lost time with family, lost time at home and put the rest of the city in front of yourselves. It was truly exceptional.”
Looking ahead
The city lost about 10% of its tree canopy, or coverage, in the storm. Those trees will be replaced once storm cleanup efforts end, Devlin said.
“Losing 10% is devastating, and that’s why we have to move to replanting as soon as we can,” Devlin said.
Trees brought down by the storm weren’t dead or dying; about 95% were healthy, according to city records.
“They had been mapped. They were shown to be in good condition. And they came down anyway,” Devlin said.
In addition to replanting, the city needs to evaluate storm response, management and recovery efforts to be better prepared for future storms, Titus said.
“When we get to the other side, we need to look forward,” Titus said. The severe storm “was a first, but it won’t be the last.”
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie City Council approves $4 million for massive storm cleanup