It is hard to believe that it has been 2 years ago today that our area was devastated by Hurricane Helene. We were without power for 8 days, and missed many of the news reports during that time. We knew it was bad, but had no idea how bad until a report came through to consider every road in our county closed from debris. And still we had no real concept of how bad it really was. Our driveway was completely obscured by debris when the sun came out. A tree was hanging on a power line across the driveway. More were down on the road and on our property all around the house. Amazingly, our house was spared, only one tree came down on our back fence, all the others missed the house and garage.
We were one of only two homes out of 5 on our street and three on the little spur with a generator to help our neighbors. We stored food in our freezer and pumped water from our well for those who needed it. Two neighbors had chain saws, and it took two days to carve a path through four huge trees for a car to pass to the main road.
Two days later, we were able to get out briefly for generator oil, but many main roads were full of debris and cars took turns through serpentine paths around the fallen trees.
Every road looked like this. I did a post on October 3, six days after the hurricane hit, when I finally got a hot spot to post. Read that on Dealing With the Aftermath.
The Blue Ridge Parkway was closed across North Carolina due to debris and fallen trees.
I wanted to get out to Chimney Rock again this past week to see how their recovery is going, but I couldn’t find the time. A couple of weeks after the storm, I made the first delivery of quilts into this hard hit area. Where you see the now-small river in this photo, there used to be a line of small businesses, an RV park and a mobile home park. All gone. The water came up almost to where I was standing on a hill at the fire department.
Here, looking north from the bistro, everything was gone. Businesses, houses and even the road itself are all gone, washed away in this horrific flood. Today, there is a road connecting Chimney Rock to Bat Cave, but it ends there. Highway 9 from Bat Cave to Gerton is still locals only and barely one lane.
Chimney Rock is recovering, many of the businesses are open again. The first one to open again was the River Watch bar and grill, and business was very brisk as locals streamed to support them. This photo was taken about 4 weeks after the hurricane. The street was full of mud and there was debris everywhere. Businesses were cleaning out ruined interiors and inventory.
We took a MINI car club run out to the Lake House in Lake Lure when they reopened to support them as well. I didn’t get any photos of the lake that day. It took over a year to clear the debris from under the water to allow boating again. Today, the marina is back and the lake is open. There are a bunch of videos on youtube that will show you the recovery so far, just search Hurricane Helen 2 Years Later. Below, this is what was left of the Flowering Bridge in Lake Lure. Read more about the recovery on that link. Today, the gardens on either side have been reopened, with more work needed, but the bridge will not be coming back. The sweet thing is that there was a Rainbow Bridge as part of the gardens, where you could put the collar of your beloved pet after they were gone. A big section with pet collars was found in the debris, and they cleaned the collars to put back on a new Rainbow Bridge. Read more about this effort – Lake Lure Rainbow Bridge.
We had to wait weeks for a debris removal company to have a place on their schedule for us. We had several downed trees pulled out and mulched.
It took almost a year for the two tops of this broken tree to finally fall. These broken pieces were 30-40 feet long, hanging from bits of bark 60 feet up. We had another crew come out to do more work last August to take away more debris and the fallen sections. There is yet more that could be done, but we’ve done all we can.
There is still have a long way to go. There are washed out bridges and impassible roads still not repaired. The interstate highway I-40 is two lanes for now, and will be two more years before it is fully back to four lanes. Highway 176 from Saluda to Tryon has several bridges washed out, and repairs have not even begun. Those repairs will be very difficult due to the terrain, and will take four years once work begins. And this is just in our county and the one next to us, Polk. On the news yesterday was a story about the metric tons of pvc pipe and debris still in the French Broad River, after months and months of debris clean up. Parts of the river are now open for recreation, but much is left to be done. Our state has only received about a third of the federal support promised. There is still a huge amount of work to do, debris to remove and damage to repair in all the counties affected from Black Mountain to Swannanoa to Asheville to Canton, up to Avery County and everywhere in between. The most frightening part of this is the debris and fallen trees have dried out and are now a huge fire hazard. We had more wildfires this past summer because of it, including one just 5 miles or so from our home. Thankfully, that one only burned a couple of acres and was put out quickly.
Remembering those days this past week was a bit post-traumatic anxiety-producing as a powerful thunderstorm ripped through with a lot of lightning and thunder. The 100-ft tall trees on our property were swaying to and fro like reeds of grass from the violent wind and driving rain. The next morning, heavy fog settled on our place, and a flock of wild turkeys came by for a visit.
About half an hour later, fog was lifting a bit, and the turkeys came closer to the veranda. You can see the bird feeder pole is still there, although we took the feeder down in July due to the bear. But the turkeys still have hope that seeds will be on the ground.
I couldn’t resist getting some seed and stepping outside to see if any of them had been here before.
Apparently a few knew me, and came toward me as I scattered sunflower seeds into the grass from the veranda.
Yesterday, three deer were in the meadow in the early morning on a cloudy day.
One of the does had a little one, still wearing its baby spots. It is wonderful to watch them in the calm of the dawn light.
So, our community is still healing, repairs are ongoing. We are grateful for our normal lives again. The wildlife has come back. I miss the birds that visited before, but I see the cardinals in the trees from time to time. I hope that when we can put the feeder back up, the bear will not be back, and the pretty songbirds will return.
I want to thank all of you, readers, for your amazing support during that time. When I was able to post just a few lines a two days after the hurricane, the response was heartwarming. There were 85 comments on that post of encouragement and support. Thank you all!!
Now that the temperature has cooled off a bit, I am going to get out the fall decorations this week. I plan to do a bit of sewing, and the car club has a drive next weekend. What are your plans this week?
And now another violent storm is hitting the northeast. I fear communities will be left to fend for themselves now. With so many floods, fires and tornadoes, the need for assistance just continues to grow.
Recovery is such a long process. But it does come …slowly
Two years and still so much left to do. I’m sorry the promised federal assistance hasn’t come – that is maddening! I can definitely understand your anxiety now during a heavy storm. I hope over time that will get better. Look at those turkeys, though! They make you smile to see them!
I lose track of time and didn’t realize this is the two year anniversary of hurricane Helene. Thanks for writing about it.
Rapid City has the same anxiety if we get a big storm around June 20, and the flood happened nearly 55 years ago! The community efforts to clean up and rebuild put the government to shame! I’m glad to see the wildlife visiting you though; they are so resilient!
What a harrowing experience, Carole. I remember your posts well and was relieved to hear that so far there haven’t been Atlantic hurricanes, though that Nor’easter sounds pretty bad for those farther north. And I recall the quilts. Ii equate our country’s current political situation to a hurricane. SO much damage has been done in a short time, like the hurricane. And, like Helene, it will take years to build it back to the place it once was and could be again. I think the Helene aftermath may heal faster than our country. I am so grateful you were able to help people, and they, you.
I admire all you did during the aftermath of the storm getting quilts collected and to local organizations who could distribute where needed. I am always amazed about community members who take charge and don’t wait on the government to fix everything. I hope these small communities can continue to rebuild as they are able.
It’s hard to see so many areas still struggling, isn’t it? Our son and daughter-in-law used to live in Gerton. We would stay at a little place in Chimney Rock when we would visit, and eat breakfast at the local eatery. Thankfully, they had already moved North of Asheville by the time the hurricane came through, but I appreciated your photos at the time and again now. We have been up to visit since, and drove along the river where we could. The devastation was just awful. I live in the Florida panhandle and hurricanes are a fact of life. I’m always so very grateful when we have a quiet year.
I also wanted to tell you that I look forward to your photos of the wildlife in your area and whatever you have blooming/growing. And of course, the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. You have a good eye for composition and I’m glad you’ve entered your local fair and received ribbons.
Carole, thank you for this post. It’s a reminder of how hard people and communities work to rebuild their homes, lives and businesses.
It is hard to believe two years have gone by already. We love the mountains and continue to support western NC!
Thanks for the update on the recovery process. Devastation of that magnitude will take years to recover. We had 17 hours of freezing rain in March 1991 and the scars from that ice storm are still visible 35 years later. I hope more of the promised funding is released for your state.
it is still amazing how little federal help is getting through – they are falling down on the job for sure – it is like no one with a brain is in charge. I feel for all the people in your area and I’m sure when you have a bad storm it is a very unsettling feeling. So many areas do not get the help they need right now so that the federal money can be spent on a way we do not need or want and funds cut because no one knows what they are doing.
Carole,
Disappointed to hear that the federal government only paid a fraction of what they promised for Helena recovery! That’s not right. Same here in upstate NY where a tornado a couple years ago yielded very disappointing federal help.
It is heartwarming to hear the stories of so many people helping others during and after this hurricane. You did a kind thing giving quilts to those affected and including us in the effort. It’s hard going through a storm like this and unfortunately the trauma of another occurrence lingers.
Sending comforting energy to you and all the people affected by Helene.
Jo Anne
It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since Helene. The remains of the last missing victim in my area was just found a couple of weeks ago. It takes a long time to recover physically but in many cases much longer to recover emotionally. I enjoyed seeing your pics of the turkeys. We have a flock around but there are only four of them. I’m trying to do fall cleaning right now. Hope everyone has a great week.
I appreciated your review of Hurricane Helene, Carole. Hugs.
I love reading your Sunday musings. 🙂 My sister lives in Western NC, (Waynesville) and we’ve been down to visit twice since Helene. It looks much better this summer than last, but there’s still a lot to be fixed. I love your pictures, as well. They bring back memories of our visits and I love seeing the wildlife. Thanks so much for sharing all you do!! Blessings, Vivian
It was so horrible to not be able to reach out. Our group in Illinois sent quilts, but had trouble finding a place that could receive them. We recently had a bad storm, some getting it worse than others, several neighbors being without power for 3 or 4 days and now facing cleanup. Now considering getting a generator. Glad to see how your area is coming back. Thanks
Boy were we naive when we met that morning! Little did we know the impact of that storm. I think you and everyone else affected will have PTSD for years.
I am so envious of your turkey visitors! We had a small flock showing up a couple of months ago but they don’t’ come close and we haven’t seen them in weeks.
Oh how true this line was “And still we had no real concept of how bad it really was”. We are still doing clean up but we do it ourselves and it’s a lot for two people our age. Not the necessity stuff to get in and out that was done right away but the other damage across our land. Hubby was so busy in the beginning helping others then the burn out came. Forever changed in many cases.