Cleaning Up Storm and Hurricane Debris with Air Curtain Burners

Major floods hit Texas, North Carolina, and New Mexico just last week—and now the Northeast is seeing serious flooding of its own. Anyone in emergency management knows this is only the beginning of what the storm season can bring.

Here in South Florida, we know that when a big storm passes through, the damage isn’t just water and wind—it’s the mountains of downed trees, broken branches, and scattered debris left behind.

Clearing all of that isn’t cosmetic. It’s about opening roads, getting power back safely, and helping neighborhoods get back to normal life.

The Challenge with Traditional Cleanup

The sheer scale of storm debris can overwhelm even well-prepared plans. Most storm plans rely on hauling, chipping, or open burning. Each has its downsides:

  • Hauling: Needs big fleets of trucks, fuel costs go up fast, and roads (often damaged) get torn up even more.
  • Chipping: Great if someone wants mulch, but huge storms can flood the market.
  • Open burning: Quick, cheap, affects air quality and elicits complaints from residents.

A Practical Alternative: Air Curtain Burners

Air Burners offer a way to manage debris right on-site. Instead of trucking it miles away or piling it up for weeks, you can burn it where you collect it, but in a controlled, cleaner way.

When the machine is fully up to speed and running, the air coming out of the manifold creates an “air” lid over the top of the FireBox. This “lid” traps the particles of smoke under the air curtain for fractions of a second causing them to reburn. The secondary burn reduces the smoke particle size so small it generally looks like heat waves coming out of the FireBox. The whole purpose of the air curtain is to create the secondary burn. The extra air also helps oxygenate the fire to burn as fast as possible.

Dramatic volume reduction– up to 95–98% less to deal with.

Why Crews Use Them After Storms

  • Fast setup: Often ready within hours.
  • Minimal infrastructure: No water hookups, no grid power, no special fuel.
  • Mobile: Towable or on skids to drag into tough spots.
  • Cleaner burns: Far less smoke than open piles.
  • Biochar byproduct: a high-quality soil amendment.

A Real-World Case: How Texas Handled Huge Hurricane Debris

When Hurricane Harvey hit, it didn’t just flood homes. It ripped down millions of trees and scattered green waste everywhere. Within days, officials realized the usual plan—grind it up and haul it to the landfill—wasn’t going to cut it.

There was simply too much. Hauling it all would have taken years and cost a fortune.

So, they changed tactics.

They brought in Air Burner’s S-300 Series FireBoxes. These machines burned the debris right where it was collected, quickly and cleanly, without having to truck it miles away.

Here’s what that meant on the ground:

  • 2 million cubic yards of debris processed on-site
  • Cleanup finished in months, not years
  • Fewer heavy trucks tearing up damaged roads
  • Faster reopening of critical roads, schools, and businesses

This wasn’t about fancy technology for its own sake. It was about getting people back in their homes and businesses open again, fast.

Texas turned to air curtain burners because they needed a method that could handle massive volumes fast, without clogging up landfills or flooding the area with smoke.

Cost and Environmental Considerations Traditional hauling and chipping means labor, fuel, and time. Open burning can be cheap but invites complaints and headaches with air quality. Air curtain burners reduce those costs while making logistics simpler.

Here’s a rough comparison:

 

Florida’s Experience After Hurricane Ian

Ian dropped over 10 million cubic yards of woody debris in Florida counties like Lee, Charlotte, and Sarasota.

Florida learned from past storms. They’d built air curtain burners into their emergency debris plans.

Instead of relying on endless hauling, they set up permitted burn sites using Air Burners to get rid of green waste on-site.

Result?

  • Debris cleared faster
  • Less traffic on crowded, damaged roads
  • Lower overall cleanup costs

A Practical Guide for Municipalities Considering Air Curtain Burners

If you’re in charge of public works or planning for disasters, you know firsthand that handling debris isn’t just another box to check—it’s what decides how quickly your community can really bounce back.

Here are a few real-world tips to consider if you’re thinking about air curtain burners:

  • Plan Before the Storm: Don’t wait until you’re knee-deep in debris to figure out permitting. Have a plan in place ahead of time.
  • Pick the Right Equipment: Not all Air Burners are the same. Big disasters may need multiple S-300 Series FireBoxes. For routine municipal yard waste, smaller units could do the trick.
  • Coordinate Deployment: Texas didn’t just have the right equipment—they had a centralized plan for where to put it. Avoid the chaos of dozens of contractors all doing their own thing.
  • Build Relationships: Early Know who you’ll call before you need them. A vendor who understands emergency timelines can save you days or even weeks.
  • Budget Realistically: Hauling and grinding costs can spiral out of control. Air Burners can save 70% or more on big cleanup jobs. Don’t leave them out of your budget planning!

Why This Matters

At the end of the day, debris management isn’t just about hauling away logs and branches. It’s about getting life back to normal.

When debris sits for months or years, people can’t go home. Businesses can’t reopen. Schools are shut. Communities stay stuck.

Air Burners aren’t the only tool you’ll need, but they’re a proven one. They’ve helped communities recover faster after hurricanes, floods, tornados, and wildfires.

The Biochar Benefit

Unlike loose ash, biochar is stable, carbon-rich, and useful. It can improve soil structure, hold water, and even help with long-term carbon storage.

For areas fighting erosion after storms, that’s a valuable bonus.

 

Choosing the Right Model

Cleanup jobs vary, so you pick what fits:

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