Debris from Tuesday’s weather-hampered Fat Tuesday celebration, much like the Mardi Gras crowd itself, was about half of what it normally is each year, says Mike McDonnell, a supervisor in the city’s Public Works Department, and his crews were able to have most of it up by 11 this morning.
A Public Works crew of 26 laborers, aided by Parks and Recreation crews and a county crew on U.S. 90, used rakes, front end loaders, a street sweeper and a small four-wheel vacuum to pick up broken beads and other litter from along the 2.7-mile long downtown parade route.
“It was not nearly as bad as it usually is,” said McDonnell, whose crews began policing the streets at 6 this morning. “To be honest, it was about half of what we’re used to seeing. I was surprised when we went out there this morning.”
Police estimated a crowd of about 35,000 paradegoers endured the cold and wet conditions Tuesday. The throng was less than half of what it typically is for Biloxi’s Mardi Gras parades.
Photos from the Gulf Coast Carnival Association parade
Photos from the Krewe of Neptune parade
Photos from the clean-up party
News and notes
Fire response: Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney on Tuesday evening dispatched one of the city’s ladder trucks and six Biloxi firefighters in response to a request for assistance from the D’Iberville Fire Department, which was battling a fire that destroyed more than a dozen units at an Automall Parkway apartment complex.
