Oxford and Lafayette crews collect more than 350,000 cubic yards debris

City and county crews have moved more than 350,000 cubic yards of storm debris in the weeks since Winter Storm Fern, clearing limbs, whole trees and other vegetative waste across Lafayette County. Both Oxford and Lafayette County engaged contractor Looks Great Services to assist with the large-scale cleanup.

Oxford city crews deployed 32 trucks and 24 trailers as part of the operation, removing approximately 170,200 cubic yards of debris from city streets and rights-of-way. An additional 3,400 cubic yards have come from dedicated tree removal and trimming operations in the city, for an Oxford total of roughly 173,600 cubic yards tied to those reported operations.

Lafayette County crews are reported to have removed 7,190 limbs to date and the county’s debris volume was printed as 176 cubic yards. That 176 figure is inconsistent with the city totals and the regionwide aggregate of more than 350,000 cubic yards; if the reported regional total is correct, the county’s cubic-yard figure would need to be on the order of 176,000 cubic yards to reconcile with the city’s 173,600 cubic yards. The county cubic-yard number as printed appears to be missing thousands and is under verification with Lafayette County officials.

Nearly three weeks after Winter Storm Fern left more than 33,000 Lafayette County residents without electricity, utility providers report power restoration is essentially complete. The North East Mississippi Electric Power Association confirmed six homes remained without power as of Monday, February 16, 2026, citing extensive structural damage as the primary reason. Oxford Utilities reported a single remaining outage on the same date.

Photographs taken Saturday, February 14, 2026, by Bruce Newman document crews clearing large piles of tree debris along North Lamar and South Lamar in Oxford, showing the scale of roadside piles and active removal work. Visual evidence from those operations aligns with the high volumes reported for city pickup and tree-trimming crews.

Logistics for the cleanup have combined municipal equipment and contractor resources: the city’s 32-truck, 24-trailer deployment and the county’s limb-removal crews have operated alongside Looks Great Services crews to handle collection, hauling and staging. With more than 350,000 cubic yards reported moved, the effort ranks as one of the largest local debris operations in recent memory for Oxford and Lafayette County.

Officials have yet to provide a corrected county cubic-yard total that reconciles with the regional aggregate; Lafayette County and Oxford public works are being asked to confirm the final yardage and the dates to which the published totals apply.