‘I love this place’: Chimney Rock tries to rebuild after Hurricane Helene

Chimney Rock was devastated by Helene’s flood waters and has been inaccessible to the outside world since late September. The fall tourism season was completely lost, and getting tourism dollars back is vital to the community’s recovery.

Alice Garrard could do nothing but watch as Hurricane Helene battered their home in Chimney Rock last September. 

As Helene approached the area, Garrard and her husband were evacuated to a nearby motel, where they watched as their community was changed forever.

“We went across the river to a motel where we could watch the destruction, and it was surreal. We saw part of our house wash away,” Garrard said.

When the flood waters finally receded, the picturesque village was barely recognizable. Four months later, the couple is renting a property nearby and trying to figure out what comes next.

“We don’t know if we have enough land to rebuild, if we want to rebuild. We’re okay, we worry about people who lost their livelihood, and sometimes their home as well. But I don’t know anybody in Chimney Rock who has left, who wants to leave,” Garrard said. 

Chimney Rock was completely devastated by Helene’s flood waters, and, along with its iconic state park, has been inaccessible to the outside world since late September. The fall tourism season was completely lost, and with a state park that received over 400,000 visitors in 2021, getting tourism dollars back is vital to the community’s recovery.

A community tries to return to normalcy

Chimney Rock Mayor Peter O’Leary, who, along with his wife Ann also owns Bubba O’Leary’s General Store, discussed some of the steps needed to get businesses reopened and tourists back at a town hall meeting last week.

Following the meeting, O’Leary spoke to Cardinal & Pine about where various repairs and rebuilding projects stood and when they’d be concluded. 

“The sewer and water, which, for Main Street, that’s going to be done in three to four months. That’s probably the biggest thing. Spokes of Hope is in the process of rebuilding the buildings, putting in the flooring, the electrical — that should be done in a couple of months. There’s a lot of things happening that are going to get us back in business, hopefully by Memorial Day,” he said. 

Prior to the Jan. 7 town hall, those in attendance expressed their hopes for the community and its future, and discussed what support is needed from the federal and state government to get the community back on its feet.

“[We need] help with reconstruction to help us get back to driving the tourism dollars that support the community. If we can get back to that part, then we can take it from there,” Chimney Rock resident Scott Dawson told Cardinal & Pine. “We need to get Chimney Park State Park opened back up.”

Gov. Josh Stein and Acting US Secretary for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Adrianne Todman last week announced North Carolina would be getting $1.65 billion in federal block grants to help rebuild homes, support small businesses, and repair roads, schools, water treatment plans, and other infrastructure. The awards include $1.4 billion to the state and $225 million directly to the City of Asheville. 

Congress also passed a $100 billion disaster relief bill last month, which will provide North Carolina about $15 billion for recovery efforts. 

“So that’s going to help us, but the needs are vastly greater than that. We’re going to be going back to Congress, the federal government, asking for more. The state needs to step up more,” Stein said.

One way or another, O’Leary is optimistic the park could open again by the summer. 

“Our hope is to have them open Memorial Day,” he said, explaining that they are exploring creating an alternate entrance through Lake Lure.

While Chimney Rock’s recovery will not be finished with the reopening of the state park, it would be an important symbolic step. The view from the top of the 315-foot rock is one of the iconic images of North Carolina, providing views of areas up to 75 miles away.

Long-term issues remain

With the village heavily damaged by the hurricane, businesses need to be repaired, and in many cases rebuilt, due to the damage. Some homes, like Garrard’s, are either uninhabitable or completely gone.

Larry Davis, a Vietnam War veteran who lives in Granite Falls but owns a home in Chimney Rock, worries about the foundation of his home. Due to the storm’s impact, part of what was his backyard is now in the Broad River.

“I’ve got one of the only houses on the river. What’s missing from my house is my yard,” he said during the public comment portion of  the town meeting. “What are the plans, possibly, of restoring that side, where we can actually step off our back porch without falling straight down in the river?” 

O’Leary said there were no plans to address that specific problem at the moment.

One of Davis’ neighbors, Kim Singer, also spoke up during the meeting and raised a similar issue, highlighting the serious problems that still linger months after Helene hit.

“Both of our properties are in severe [danger] of falling into the river at this point. We’re both living on an edge, on a cliff,” she explained.

Timing is crucial here, Singer said, and the typical rainfall the area receives in the spring could make the situation even worse for homeowners like her.

“With just the weather we have had in the past few weeks, the ground is so soft, even on my side yard, that we can’t wait for a solution. We can’t wait a month. We can’t wait two months. We’re not going to sit and watch our homes fall into the river,” she said.

Singer explained that she was willing to repair her own property and hire contractors to repair the damage from Helene, but asked if making alterations to the creek bank was permitted. While local leaders did not have a clear answer at the time, they promised to get one. 

“We don’t have six months. We don’t have a year. When spring comes in, and the rain comes in, we’re all in big trouble,” Singer said.

While the community hopes to receive state and federal funding, there is a recovery fund designed to rebuild the town with the help of private donations from individuals. Village Administrator Stephen Duncan explained how the fund would support the village’s recovery and reopening of small businesses.

“In the Helene Relief Fund, which is controlled by the village council, we’ve raised just over $400,000. We’ve already given out almost $300,000. And we’re continuing to raise,” he told Cardinal & Pine following the community meeting. 

“Those monies are earmarked specifically to the residents or a business owner if they may be living in their home as part of the business, and we have grants up to $5,000,” Duncan added. “We’re giving grants to the residents, the property owners, to help them through this difficult time.”

Chimney Rock, like much of western North Carolina, faces a yearslong recovery. For Davis, restoring the town is ultimately the most important thing.

“I want it to be back like Chimney Rock and Lake Lure. I know it’s going to take a lot of time, but I love this place and always have.”

Individuals can directly contribute to the Official Chimney Rock Village Disaster Relief Fund at this link.