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Tornado Cleanup Continues at Lake Scranton

LAKE SCRANTON — More than two months after a tornado tore through Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties, the cleanup still continues. A popular walking trail in...

LAKE SCRANTON -- More than two months after a tornado tore through Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties, the cleanup still continues.

A popular walking trail in Scranton is still closed as crews continue to remove toppled trees, branches, and stumps.

The signs still read "closed" at the Lake Scranton walking trail. We got a look behind the gate at several spots where trees still need to be taken down and cleared out to make the trail safe again.

The trail at Lake Scranton is a popular spot for runners and walkers and it has been closed for more than two months.

It's owned by Pennsylvania American Water.

"As you can see, there's still a lot of trees that are down, a lot of debris, there are still trees that need to be taken down because they were damaged during the storm," said Susan Turcmanovich, Pennsylvania American Water.

The February tornado ripped through several spots in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties.

Crews have cleared the path but haven't taken out all the branches and stumps to ensure the trail is safe for everyone.

"We want to make sure everything is removed that can be removed so there's nothing else left here that was damaged," Turcmanovich said.

The next step is for crews to remove all the big stumps and leftover tree branches, a process that could take several weeks.

Pennsylvania American Water hopes walkers understand.

"We don't think people can really see what happened here when you drive on (Route) 307. You can see some downed trees, but you can't see down to the lake and you can't see what was done here, and you can't see further up where the other part was hit because there's so much damage," Turcmanovich added.

Jerry Schalk walks about five times a week and knows how popular the Lake Scranton trail is among runners and walkers.

"It's the fresh air and you see a lot of wildlife," said Schalk. "It's beautiful scenery up there, but I think what they're doing is making sure it's safe for all the people that walk it."

Pennsylvania American Water crews hope to reopen most of the Lake Scranton Trail in the next month or so. It's still too soon to know when the entire trail will reopen.

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