The Ike debris piles are bigger than expected

Houston Chronicle:

More than a third of the heaping piles of debris in front of Houston households have yet to be touched by the army of laborers tasked with cleaning them up, and may not be for at least another week.

Solid waste officials and contractors say the process has taken a few days more than originally envisioned because they have moved more than twice the expected amount of felled trees and other detritus shaken loose in Hurricane Ike.

The total volume in the city and county is staggering, possibly as high as 12 million cubic yards, or enough to fill up the Astrodome more than six times, according to city and county officials.

And costs could exceed $200 million, as much as 50 percent more than what local officials originally set aside. At least three-fourths of that is expected to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, officials said.

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I have relatives in Florida who confronted a similar situation with the purchase of a portable saw mill. They turned the knocked over trees in to lumber which they used or sold more than paying for the price of the mill which was around $10,000. My cousin used some of it to make guitars one of which was auctioned for charities related to the storm.

I think I would rather be blogging, but perhaps some entrepreneur will seize the opportunity in Houston. At least the cost of your inventory will be relatively cheap.