Cleanup is slow but steady in the Dayton area, as public works departments strive to repair the damage done by this week’s winter storm.

As of Thursday afternoon, streets were largely cleared and power was being restored to thousands.

Oakwood, primarily the east side, appeared to be one of the hardest hit areas in the Miami Valley.

“The only other storm that has been worse than this since I’ve been here is Ike,” said Oakwood Public Works Director Kevin Weaver, who has been with the city since 2002.

Hurricane Ike spurred the 2008 windstorm that caused millions of dollars in damage and left hundreds of thousands of area families without power, some for up to two weeks.

Centerville Public Works Director Rob James also compared the blast to the windstorm, but noted that this week’s damage to his area of town was much easier to handle.

“This was nothing like the windstorm aftermath,” he said. “The smaller stuff is down; the stuff people can drag to the curb — a big limb here and there, and some branches.”

David Beach, Beavercreek’s director of Public Administration Services, said the cumulative nature of the storms this winter have taken their toll.

“There has been more snow and ice,” he said, adding that cleanup will be ongoing as more storms hit the area throughout February.

Area public works departments reminded residents to put debris at the curb, not in the street, for pickup.

James said Centerville crews are running trucks through neighborhoods, like they do for leaf pickup, to collect debris.

“Residents don’t need to cut it up, just get it to the curb,” James said of Centerville residents.

Most area officials guessed it might take weeks to get all the debris collected.

Kettering City Manager Mark Schwieterman said the cities’ efforts are dependent on the weather.

“If it snows, we have to take care of that first,” he said.

Weaver said Thursday that Oakwood crews were focusing primarily on getting sidewalks cleared so students can walk to school.

“We just have to keep at it,” he said. “We just need folks to be patient.”

Beach said residents also need to take their time to get branches collected.

“It is difficult with the way the ice socked it in, and some people have limited physical abilities,” he said, adding that icy driveways and sidewalks will continue to be hazardous for several days.

Beach, like other city officials, said he was pleased with the response of his crews.

“I can’t say enough about the quality of workers that we have who respond to these types of events,” he said. “Overtime is voluntary. If they show up, it really helps the public.”

Schwieterman agreed that Kettering and the region as a whole responded to the storm quickly and efficiently.

“Just look at our roads,” he said. “I think we did pretty well.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7325 or jikelley@Dayton DailyNews.com.