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Local Businesses Face Major Barriers In Hilary Aftermath
It’s been three days since Tropical Storm Hilary rocked through the neighborhoods in Cathedral City, but while many around the valley are okay to head back to work, others are facing major barriers. "I mean words don’t even put it in perspective, it’s completely devastating. We have three feet of mud in the building." Joey Frazier, the Vice President of Frazier Pest Control in Cathedral City says. Frazier says, the aftermath of tropical storm Hilary, is beyond what he could’ve ever imagined. "Our refrigerator that’s in the back of the office in the kitchen is now in the front by the front door, our desk split in half, I mean it’s just it’s insane." Frazier says. In the last couple of days, Frazier has done his best to gather as much as he can from out of the office. He says the city has been a big help by clearing the streets around the area. "In the office today, you can kind of see my pants. I’m up to my knees so it’s slowly drying, so we’re getting a little bit more access but with it drying obviously, stuff is getting trapped inside the office. Just trucking through the mud trying to get as much as we can." Frazier adds on the amount of mud drying in their office. "You know we’re just working on getting our computers and our programs back up. We should have those running by the end of the day hopefully tomorrow, the latest by the end of the week. Our pest control technicians are still currently out there working." Frazier says. With the business open five days a week, and no clear sign of opening up the office anytime soon, their employees are working remotely. "I’m in there trying to gather all their family photos as much as their personal belongings I can, so you know I feel bad for them too, but we got them working remotely now, so they’re back at work. We’re doing what we can to get everybody back." Frazier says. To help the residents in Cathedral City, the Palm Springs Air Museum has set up a fundraiser to help recover the residents greatly impacted by the storm. Click the link below for more information. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tropical-storm-hilary-flood-relief-efforts#/
By: Tiani Jadulang
August 23, 2023