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Selmer begins to clear tons of debris from deadly tornado • Tennessee Lookout [1]
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Date: 2025-07-18
Three and a half months after a tornado destroyed more than 100 buildings in Selmer, Tennessee, the city is now removing piles of debris from the storm’s scar.
The EF-3 tornado swept through Selmer, the McNairy County seat, with wind speeds up to 160 miles per hour in the early morning of April 3. When its 43-mile storm track fizzled out, the storm left behind 332 damaged structures, most of which were privately owned. Five people were killed.
Selmer Mayor Sherry Inman described the amount of debris as “unreal.” The storm came in the middle of the city’s budget process and plunged Selmer into unknown territory, she said.
“It changed a lot of our plans … we had to sit on the debris for a little while until we could figure out where we could take it,” Inman said.
Selmer borrowed $650,000 from its utility division’s gas fund to cover initial costs, and leased two plots of land from the owners of Knight’s Sawmill for $10 to use for debris sorting and burning.
The city plans to sort through the debris, pulling out vegetation, tree stumps and branches, and other wood to burn. The process uses an air curtain incinerator, a machine that creates a high-velocity air “curtain” to trap smoke and particulates in a burn pit to cut down on emissions.
Burning some of the debris “gives us a chance to separate and hopefully eliminate some of the weight to try to save what money we can save,” Inman said.
The remaining debris that cannot be burned — plastics, metals, asphalt roofing and other construction and demolition debris — will ultimately be trucked to a landfill in Jackson, Tennessee, where Selmer will pay a fee per cubic ton.
But the rules for burning storm debris are strict, and Selmer has run into some issues in its first two weeks of work on the debris site.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, which regulates incineration of natural disaster debris, received a complaint of odor, ash and soot on July 3, the fourth day of the site’s operation.
Burning complaint and state regulations
The state approved Selmer’s plans to use a temporary incinerator on the site to burn specific types of debris for up to 16 weeks.
The approval stipulates that the city must “make a reasonable effort” to remove any prohibited materials before igniting the blaze. That includes plastic, rubber, vinyl flooring and siding, asphalt roofing materials, carpet, material containing asbestos and any electronic waste.
The city can’t burn debris if air contaminants cause traffic hazards, if there is an air pollution emergency or if the state agency determines the emissions jeopardize public health or create a nuisance, according to state documents.
State records show an inspector who visited the site on July 3 noted “ashes and waste in the pit that indicated open burning of prohibited materials had occurred.”
Selmer Fire Chief Anthony Carr and Inman “noted some open burning of demolition materials had occurred for less than two days before they were made aware that this material did not meet … guidelines for approved burning,” the report states.
An inspector visited the site on July 8 when no burning was taking place and reported that the pit contained materials approved for burning. The complaint was dismissed on July 8 without violation.
Inman said the first week of handling debris was “trial and error” and there were problems getting the burn pit to work properly.
“Everything TDEC has asked us to do, we’re going by that strictly,” Inman said.
She wants to see the debris removal process wrap up within eight weeks, if possible, and doesn’t want to jeopardize that timeline by failing to adhere to state regulations, she said.
“We’re trying to make sure that we are mindful of taxpayers’ money, and … we’ve always been mindful of the residents in that area,” she said. “We don’t want any health issues whatsoever, so we have never burned anything that caused any health (issues) … and the smoke is very minimal.”
When the vegetation is burned and the other debris has been trucked to the landfill, Selmer plans to remove any remaining ash to the landfill as well, Inman said. That will leave the site uncontaminated for future use.
Selmer moves forward
Inman said her main goal is clearing the debris so the city can move forward with whatever comes next.
“We’ve tried to get it off the side of the roads and out of the storm area so that the storm victims and their families and properties can get back to closure and get to where they can work on building back or whatever their next step is,” she said.
The total cost of removing debris will be clear after the city receives its first invoices for trucking debris to and from the staging site and dumping it in the landfill.
President Donald Trump’s administration approved a major disaster declaration for McNairy County in June, allowing the county to access federal assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In previous years, FEMA public assistance has reimbursed local and state governments for about 75% of the costs of immediate recovery, but Trump’s administration has signaled the possibility of reducing that match and transferring more financial responsibility for disaster recovery to states. Tennessee has historically split the remaining 25% of costs evenly with local governments.
Most of the debris from homes destroyed by an April tornado has been removed from Adams Street in Selmer, Tenn. on July 17, 2025. (Photo: Courtesy of Sherry Inman) Debris from destroyed homes lines Adams Street in Selmer, Tenn. on April 7, 2025, days after a tornado tore through the town. (Photo: Courtesy of Sherry Inman) Debris from destroyed homes lines Adams Street in Selmer, Tenn. on April 7, 2025, days after a tornado tore through the town. (Photo: Courtesy of Sherry Inman) Tractors drive around a pile of tornado debris at a debris staging and burning site at Knight's Sawmill in Selmer, Tenn. on July 1, 2025. (Photo: Courtesy of Sherry Inman) Most of the debris from homes destroyed by an April tornado has been removed from Adams Street in Selmer, Tenn. on July 17, 2025. (Photo: Courtesy of Sherry Inman)
Inman said it’s not clear how much aid funding Selmer will receive, but the prospect of any help “means a great deal for Selmer.”
“Selmer has got some funds, but we have really looked at putting back more if we’re going to continue to have these disasters,” she said. “If we hadn’t had this declaration for our town, it would have been a strain on us, and then if we had (another disaster) coming behind us … it would have been very devastating to our town.”
It will take a year or two for FEMA funding to come through, but that “at least gives us a chance to plan,” Inman said.
The city is also working on ordinances that could help expedite immediate needs like debris removal should another disaster occur.
In the meantime, parts of Selmer are planning to build back. The city lost some historic buildings, but businesses on the North end will rebuild, and the city may see more duplexes replace demolished housing.
Before the storm, Selmer had a shortage of housing, Inman explained. The loss of so many buildings put the town further behind.
Seeing the people who were affected the most begin to put their lives back together gives Inman hope, she said.
“It just kind of makes you think … it wasn’t a perfect plan, and it was trial and error, but at least we’re doing something,” she said. “We’re trying to do what’s right for them and for our town.”
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