Mounds of tree limbs and branches line many streets in Mercer County. All cleaned up from yards..and waiting to be picked up..from a devastating act of nature.

“It looked like a war zone. It was worse than any of the tornadoes that came through the last couple of years,” says Burgin Mayor Terry Pitman.

But the cleanup lingers on….because the out of state work crews that won the low bid to pick up this mess..left before the job was done.

Burgin’s mayor says a Louisiana company showed up…but left when they realized there wasn’t enough money to be made there.

“What I was told..they high-tailed it to western Kentucky where there is more work,” Pitman said.

State officials maintain none of these crews were paid up front. Only on the amount of storm debris they collected.

And since there was more debris in other places than Mercer Couty, crews packed up and left.

“It’s a volume business and since you get paid by the cubic yard of debris that you remove and haul off and get dumped,” said Chuck Wolfe, spokesperson for the Ky. Transportation Cabinet.

State officials say the job will be done by April 6th.