Mary Washington College seniors (from left) Lars Holmstrom, Chris Dimotsis and Justin Zimmerman clear brush along a trail at Alum Spring Park in Fredericksburg. Volunteers cleared smaller trees and brush Saturday, but much work remains. mwm

City Councilman Scott Howson pulls branches from a large tree that crushed some playground equipment at Alum Spring Park when Hurricane Isabel roared through Virginia. mwm

Volunteers begin the long process of clearing fallen trees and brush in Fredericksburg's Alum Spring Park

By ELIZABETH PEZZULLO

Date published: 9/29/2003

Volunteers clean up Isabel-damaged city park

Usually overflowing with people on a sunny fall weekend, Alum Spring Park was eerily quiet except for a few volunteers hauling away wheelbarrows of debris and hacking through fallen tree limbs left by Hurricane Isabel.

"It's pretty ravaged," Cat Miller, a senior at Mary Washington College, said as she glanced around. Dozens of thick-trunked trees lay on their sides in the 35-acre Fredericksburg park. "It's actually pretty surreal, too, to see what a hurricane can do."

Miller was one of about a half-dozen people associated with the Friends of Alum Spring Park who turned out Saturday to begin the enormous task of cleaning up the woodsy haven at the end of Greenbrier Drive off William Street. Volunteers from the local Sierra Club were also on hand.

A huge white oak had split the center of a wooden swing set, while other fallen trees blocked the pedestrian path alongside Hazel Run.

Despite the downed trees, the park is open for visitors. Bathrooms, a foot bridge and picnic areas are usable.

Saturday was the first time Fredericksburg city councilman and Friends chairman Scott Howson had witnessed the devastation.

"It's shocking to see these beautiful trees, that seemed solid as rocks, down," Howson said, a machete at his side. "But it's the way nature works."

Volunteers and city crews will continue the cleanup effort, and Howson said it will take time.

He said that in the next few weeks the city will announce a date when residents can come to the park and chop up the trees for firewood, free of charge.

The city bought the property in 1965 and opened it as a park in 1968. A sandstone cliff in the park is believed to be 100 million years old. And a railroad bed that runs along the park's edge was part of a 38-mile track that carried passengers and freight from Fredericksburg to Orange County from the 1800s until 1938.

In recent years, nearby development and misuse of Alum Spring have exacerbated existing erosion problems along Hazel Run.

The punishing wind and rain from the hurricane certainly didn't help, but the cleanup crew wasn't losing faith.

"What can you do?" Miller said. "It's sad, but it's a normal part of the process."

To reach ELIZABETH PEZZULLO: 540/374-5421 epezzullo@freelancestar.com

Date published: 9/29/2003