Latest news with #ChimneyRock
Washington Post
17 hours ago
- Climate
- Washington Post
Home to North Carolina iconic attraction reopens after Hurricane Helene's devastation
CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C. — An iconic tourist attraction in an area of western North Carolina among the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene reopened to the public on Friday, nine months after the storm brought historic flooding, destruction and loss of life. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and other officials attended a reopening ceremony at Chimney Rock State Park, which is about 25 miles (40.2 kilometers) southeast of Asheville. The main portion of the park will now be open again from Fridays to Mondays to visitors who make reservations, Stein's office said.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Home to North Carolina iconic attraction reopens after Hurricane Helene's devastation
CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C. (AP) — An iconic tourist attraction in an area of western North Carolina among the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene reopened to the public on Friday, nine months after the storm brought historic flooding, destruction and loss of life. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and other officials attended a reopening ceremony at Chimney Rock State Park, which is about 25 miles (40.2 kilometers) southeast of Asheville. The main portion of the park will now be open again from Fridays to Mondays to visitors who make reservations, Stein's office said. Stein also signed into law before the ceremony's crowd another state Helene recovery bill finalized by the General Assembly on Thursday that sends $700 million to the state's Helene relief fund and appropriates $500 million of that. And Stein announced a new tourism campaign to encourage travel and spending in the North Carolina mountains. 'Today's reopening is a huge achievement,' Stein told attendees. 'Chimney Rock is just one of the many places that make western North Carolina unforgettable.' Last September's storm swept away the ornate stone and concrete bridge across the Broad River to reach the portion of the park that contains the 315-foot (96-meter) high geological formation that's shaped in keeping with the park's name. The park, which also features hiking trails and other amenities, usually attracts 400,000 people annually. A road had to be paved and a temporary bridge made from old railroad cars was laid over the river. The reopening provides needed encouragement to those in adjoining Chimney Rock Village, where a third of the hamlet's businesses were destroyed as river waters removed buildings from their foundations. 'It almost wiped us off the map,' village Mayor Peter O'Leary said on Friday. 'The village knew one thing that was of utmost importance to our survival. We had to have Chimney Rock State Park open again.' Some village businesses are reopening. Before Friday's bill signing, the General Assembly already had appropriated or reallocated more than $1.6 billion for Helene recovery. The new Helene law is the fifth relief package approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly since last fall. The Democratic governor said Friday that he's still seeking direct aid for small businesses and more funds for affordable housing. But he was still pleased with the legislature's action. 'We have a lot of work to do, but it's also good to take stock and recognize that today is a good day,' Stein said. The governor is also seeking more federal funds for Helene recovery beyond the billions already received by the state and by those harmed by the storm. State officials say the storm caused more than 100 deaths in North Carolina and generated roughly $60 billion in damages and needs. The Associated Press
Associated Press
18 hours ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Home to North Carolina iconic attraction reopens after Hurricane Helene's devastation
CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C. (AP) — An iconic tourist attraction in an area of western North Carolina among the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene reopened to the public on Friday, nine months after the storm brought historic flooding, destruction and loss of life. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and other officials attended a reopening ceremony at Chimney Rock State Park, which is about 25 miles (40.2 kilometers) southeast of Asheville. The main portion of the park will now be open again from Fridays to Mondays to visitors who make reservations, Stein's office said. Stein also signed into law before the ceremony's crowd another state Helene recovery bill finalized by the General Assembly on Thursday that sends $700 million to the state's Helene relief fund and appropriates $500 million of that. And Stein announced a new tourism campaign to encourage travel and spending in the North Carolina mountains. 'Today's reopening is a huge achievement,' Stein told attendees. 'Chimney Rock is just one of the many places that make western North Carolina unforgettable.' Last September's storm swept away the ornate stone and concrete bridge across the Broad River to reach the portion of the park that contains the 315-foot (96-meter) high geological formation that's shaped in keeping with the park's name. The park, which also features hiking trails and other amenities, usually attracts 400,000 people annually. A road had to be paved and a temporary bridge made from old railroad cars was laid over the river. The reopening provides needed encouragement to those in adjoining Chimney Rock Village, where a third of the hamlet's businesses were destroyed as river waters removed buildings from their foundations. 'It almost wiped us off the map,' village Mayor Peter O'Leary said on Friday. 'The village knew one thing that was of utmost importance to our survival. We had to have Chimney Rock State Park open again.' Some village businesses are reopening. Before Friday's bill signing, the General Assembly already had appropriated or reallocated more than $1.6 billion for Helene recovery. The new Helene law is the fifth relief package approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly since last fall. The Democratic governor said Friday that he's still seeking direct aid for small businesses and more funds for affordable housing. But he was still pleased with the legislature's action. 'We have a lot of work to do, but it's also good to take stock and recognize that today is a good day,' Stein said. The governor is also seeking more federal funds for Helene recovery beyond the billions already received by the state and by those harmed by the storm. State officials say the storm caused more than 100 deaths in North Carolina and generated roughly $60 billion in damages and needs.
CBS News
10-06-2025
- CBS News
North Carolina village of Chimney Rock still struggling to recover from Hurricane Helene, endangering tourist season
Chimney Rock, North Carolina, was unrecognizable after Hurricane Helene swept through, bringing mudslides and flash flooding that ripped apart homes. At the time, it took hours and an escort for CBS News to reach the village, since the only access road had been washed away. Eight months later, the tourist town still isn't ready to welcome summer visitors, putting residents who rely on the tourism industry in peril. Residents like Theresa and Glenn Cauthren had to move into the Chimney Rock Inn, the hotel they own, after their house filled with mud. They had hoped the hotel would have reopened by now, like hotels in Asheville and other nearby cities, but Chimney Rock is still without running water and sanitation. "I had no idea it was going to take this long," Glenn Cauthren told CBS News. Similar cases can be seen along Main Street. Peter O'Leary owns Bubba O'Leary's General Store, and he also serves as mayor of the town of 125. His store also filled up with mud after the hurricane, he said. Chimney Rock's remote location and the very geography that makes the town so stunning have also made recovery work slower and more expensive. "Even though we're making great progress, there's still so much to do," O'Leary said. "I was in Asheville this morning. I was in Hendersonville this morning. And life is normal. And then you come here and it's just totally upside down," O'Leary said. "And, you know, that's just what we're all trying to come to grips with, is that our neighbors just a few miles away are living their lives and we're still trying to recover." But that's not deterring the community, including the Cauthrens. "We are resilient," Theresa Cauthren said, adding, "We're gonna be back and it's gonna be better than ever."
Associated Press
26-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
'I just don't have it in me.' Some businesses in mountain tourist town not coming back after flood
CHIMNEY ROCK VILLAGE, N.C. (AP) — The brightly colored sign along the S-curve mountain road beckons visitors to the Gemstone Mine, the '#1 ATTRACTION IN CHIMNEY ROCK VILLAGE!' But another sign, on the shop's mud-splattered front door, tells a different story. 'We will be closed Thursday 9-26-2024 due to impending weather,' it reads. It promised to reopen the next day at noon, weather permitting. That impending weather was the remnants of Hurricane Helene. And that reopening still hasn't arrived. The storm smashed into the North Carolina mountains last September, killing more than 100 people and causing an estimated $60 billion in damage. Chimney Rock, a hamlet of about 140 named for the 535-million-year-old geological wonder that underpins its tourism industry, was hit particularly hard. Eight months later, the mine, like most of the surviving businesses on the village's quaint Main Street, is still an open construction site. A flashing sign at the guard shack on the town line warns: 'ROAD CLOSED. LOCAL TRAFFIC ONLY.' Village Mayor Peter O'Leary had optimistically predicted that downtown would open in time for Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer tourist season. He now realizes that was too ambitious. 'We had set that date as a target, early on,' he said, sitting in the still stripped main room of his Bubba O'Leary's General Store. 'But I always try to remind people, you don't always hit the target. Anybody that's shot a gun or bow and arrow knows, you don't always hit the target.' The Broad River — which gave the restaurants and inns lining its banks their marketable water views — left its course, carving away foundations and sweeping away the bridge to Chimney Rock State Park. O'Leary said about a third of the town's businesses were 'totally destroyed.' Several are gone for good. At the north end of town, all that remains of Bayou Billy's Chimney Rock Country Fair amusement park is a pile of twisted metal, tattered awnings and jumbled train cars. A peeling, cracked yellow carousel horse that owner Bill Robeson's own children once rode balances precariously on a debris pile, its mouth agape to the sky. At 71, Robeson — who also lost a two-story building where he sold popcorn, pizza and souvenir tin cups — said he doesn't have the heart to rebuild. 'We made the dream come true and everything,' said Robeson, who's been coming to Chimney Rock since he was in diapers. 'I hate I had to leave like it was. But, you know, life is short. You just can't ponder over it. You've got to keep going, you know?' At the other end of town, the Carter Lodge boasted 'BALCONIES OVERLOOKING RIVER.' Much of the back side of the 19-room hotel now dangles in midair, an angry red-brown gash in the soil that once supported it. Barely a month before Helene, Linda Carter made the last loan payments on repairs from a 100-year flood in 1996. Contractors estimate it will cost $2.6 million to rebuild. So, the widow said she's waiting to see how much the federal government will offer her to let the lot become a flood-mitigation zone. 'I just don't have it in me,' said Carter, who lived in the hotel. 'I'm 74. I don't want to die and leave my children in debt. I also don't want to go through the pain of rebuilding.' But others, like Matt Banz, still think Chimney Rock is worth the risk of future heartache. The Florida native fell in love with a fudge shop here during a vacation more than 30 years ago. Today, he and his family own four businesses in town, including the gem mine and the RiverWatch Bar & Grill. 'The day after the storm, we didn't even question whether we were going to rebuild,' Banz said, with workers rebuilding the riverfront deck on new cement footers. 'We knew right away that we weren't going to let go.' O'Leary, Banz and others say federal relief has been slow. But volunteers have filled the gaps. Down the street, Amish workers from Pennsylvania pieced together a mold before pouring a new reinforced foundation for the Broad River Inn, among the oldest businesses in town. The river undermined the back end and obliterated the neighboring miniature golf course. 'We definitely could not have done what we're doing without them, that is for certain,' inn co-owner Kristen Sottile said. 'They have brought so much willpower, hope, as well as many other things to our community.' The Amish are working in concert with Spokes of Hope, a Christian nonprofit formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, which hit the Carolinas in September 2018. Jonathan Graef and his siblings bought the Best View Inn in late 2023 and were halfway through renovations when Helene struck. They've been flooded twice since, but the new rafters and framing the Amish workers constructed have held. 'It's really trying to kick us down,' said Graef, whose property borders what is left of the Bayou Billy's park. 'But our spirits are high, our hopes are high and nothing's going to stop us from opening this place.' Throughout town, the ring of hammers and saws mingles with the sizzle of welding and the rumble of debris-removal trucks. Workers lay sewer lines. A temporary steel bridge to the state park — replacing the ornate stone and concrete span that washed out — should be ready soon, O'Leary said. 'In a normal year, they easily have 400,000 visitors that come to the park,' he said. 'That's really the draw that brings people here.' One recent evening, Rose Senehi walked down Main Street, stopping to peer into shop windows to see how much progress had been made. Twenty-two years ago, the novelist stopped in town to buy an ice cream cone. As she licked, she crossed a small bridge, climbed a rickety staircase to a small house, looked around 'and saw that mountain.' 'Within an hour I signed the contract and bought it. Out of the blue,' she said, her eyes lighting up. 'Never been to this town. But I knew THIS is what I wanted.' The bridge is gone. So is that ice cream shop. But Senehi said there's more to this place than stores and treats. 'There's something about this area that, it's just compelling. The mountains. The green. It's just beautiful,' she said. 'It'll definitely come back. And it won't be the same; it'll be better.' O'Leary said he thinks some Main Street businesses will be open sometime this summer. The council is looking for village-owned properties that can be leased or sold to business owners. 'I can see progress on all fronts,' said O'Leary, who came for a park job 35 years ago and never left. But he cautions that recovery will be slow. 'We don't want everybody to come at the same time, but we do want people to visit and be patient with us,' he said. 'This is a long rebuild. But I think it's going to be worth it.'
