ANTHONY TOWNSHIP -- The salvage work has begun, trying to get that massive blimp that floated into our area out of the woods in central Pennsylvania.
There is a big military effort to protect and remove the equipment worth tens of millions of dollars.
We were left with plenty of questions after the NORAD blimp from Maryland ended up in Montour County on Wednesday.
The Army and state police worked all day Thursday to collect pieces of the multi-million dollar security system.
If you don't live there, you are not allowed to go through the rural road near Muncy anytime soon. The Army and state police have blocked it off while they work to gather pieces of the blimp.
A piece of the NORAD blimp, still inflated and entangled in the trees was slowly deflated with the help of state troopers.
Neighbors tell us the shots echoed through this rural area near Muncy early Thursday morning.
"I said, 'Well, that sounds like a rifle or maybe shotgun,' and I said, 'I wonder if they are putting holes in that.' And then I heard it again and again and again," said neighbor Ken Hunter.
"Now you can't see the blimp from my back patio, so they must have deflated it," said Kay Houseknecht.
The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind for Houseknecht. After breaking free from Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, the multi-million dollar NORAD blimp eventually descended in two parts near Muncy.
Now the stretch of rural road where she lives has become one of the most fortified parts of the county.
"As long as we have our IDs we can get back in," said Housknecht.
"I just hope they can retrieve everything that they need and be gone."
With military helicopters overhead, Capt. Matt Villa from the Army Air and Missile Defense tells Newswatch 16, about 6,000 feet of tether has already been removed.
"We are planning on taking out the tail section, to get that away and then the aerostat deflation is ongoing, and we are making plans for the removal of the equipment down there in the next day or two," said Capt. Villa.
Capt. Villa tells us helicopters could be used to remove the pieces. They still don't know about the condition of the blimp.
"That's all pending," said Capt. Villa. "Getting it out of the woods and seeing how it shows up after that. It's too early to tell at this point."
Due to the high security of the blimp, the perimeter of roadblocks around it was still in place along Muncy Exchange Road.
People living here must show IDs to get through. However, most don't mind the inconvenience.
“No, there's another way to get out through this street here. Of course they have the main road. Of course they have to block it. I understand that,” said Dennis Landon.
“Everybody's more excited about actually having the blimp in the area I think, that they're not really complaining about the traffic,” said Robin Newcomer.
Newcomer was so excited to see the blimp float by her home, she snapped dozens of pictures.
“I followed it home. I was at work near Washingtonville and I saw it in the sky so as soon as I got home here, I got my camera, and I could see, I could see it actually traveling all the way back behind my barn,” said Newcomer.
Military personnel tell us it could be up to a week until everything is back to normal in the area.