Wedding venue in Blue Ridge, GA for couples in Asheville, NC

Clay Chandler, a spokesperson for Asheville's Water Resources Department, offered chilling perspective on how much more lethal the already catastrophic Tropical Storm Helene could have been during an Oct. 25 briefing.

Buncombe County briefings provide updates on many pressing issues post-Helene, from relief sites to FEMA applications and beyond. Included under this umbrella are updates on the process of restoring water to the Asheville area.

During the Friday, Oct. 25 meeting, Chandler explained that previous improvements to the North Fork Dam very likely prevented "what is already a catastrophe from being exponentially worse."

Here's what we know about what could've happened, what prevented it and the current state of Asheville's municipal water.

More:Helene recovery in Buncombe: Spectrum restoration delays, D-SNAP extension, more

What would happen if the North Fork Dam failed?

The North Fork Reservoir supplies water to roughly 80% of Asheville's population. During Tropical Storm Helene, both of North Fork's main transmission lines and a 36-inch bypass waterline were destroyed — and Chandler said that built-in safety mechanisms may have been partially responsible.

"It is entirely possible that water from one or both of the spillways at North Fork washed out our main transmission lines," Chandler said.

Massive rainfall from the storm caused a torrent of water that eroded ground around pipes and pushed them apart. The excess rain that landed in the watershed and reservoir automatically flowed out of the emergency auxiliary spillway, funneling almost 18 inches of rain that landed in a 15,000-acre forested watershed downhill into a 355-acre lake.

However, the auxiliary spillway at North Fork created in anticipation of extreme weather events was also "almost certainly" the reason that the North Fork Dam did not fail.

"If that North Fork Dam had failed and unleashed six billion gallons of water, it would have meant complete annihilation of everything and every person between Black Mountain and Biltmore Village," Chandler said.

Clay Chandler, Asheville Water Resources Department spokesman

The North Fork Dam Improvement Project

Chandler praised the prioritization of dam improvements by Asheville officials, without which Helene's death count could have skyrocketed.

The North Fork Dam Improvement Project was operational in 2021 after three years of construction. The project, which received a Rehabilitation Project of the Year Award from the Association of Dam Safety Officials, added the following reinforcements to the dam:

The auxiliary spillway was designed to begin trickling water at a 200-year storm event. The first fuse gate was designed to break out at just over a 1,000-year storm event. In order for all fuse gates to let go causing a dam failure, a 50,000-year storm event would need to occur.

Is it ok to drink Asheville tap water? Brush my teeth?

Under the current boil advisory, area residents must bring water to a full rolling boil for one minute, then allow the water to cool before use in order to safely consume it.

The same parameters apply for any water you ingest or place in your mouth — including water used for brushing your teeth.

Can I shower in Asheville water?

Unless the city issues a "Do Not Use" notification, tap water can currently be used by healthy individuals for showering, bathing and shaving. Ensure you don't swallow any water and avoid shaving nicks.

The city recommends that children and disabled individuals should be supervised to ensure water is not ingested, and sponge bathing is advised. The city also suggests that anyone with open wounds, cuts, blisters or recent surgical wounds and people who are immunocompromised or suffer from chronic illness use only boiled and cooled water or water from an alternate source to bathe.

More:'Do not flush': Helene destroyed Spruce Pine's water treatment plant with no immediate fix

Can I wash dishes in Asheville water? Clothes?

Hand-washing dishes in unboiled Asheville water is not currently safe unless you rinse for a minute in dilute bleach (1 tablespoon of unscented bleach per gallon of water) after washing with detergent, and allow dishes to dry completely before use.

If your home dishwasher is at least 170 degrees and includes a full dry cycle, you can use it to safely wash dishes. However, the city warns that most home dishwashers do not reach this temperature.

Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.

The road leading to an 80-year-old military veteran’s mountain-top home outside Asheville, N.C., was still impassable more than two weeks after Hurricane Helene dumped devastating rainfall on the area, washing out roads, damaging bridges and spawning landslides.

But Corey Anderson, an intermediate health care technician with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Asheville medical center, knew he needed to reach his patient.

So, the 15-year veteran of the Ashville VA’s emergency room parked his van, gathered his medical gear and a few supplies, and set out on foot to reach the veteran — a half-mile trek straight up the washed-away road pocked with downed trees.

“It didn’t feel like a choice. It’s like, there was no turning around and going back to the VA and saying, ‘I just couldn’t make it,’” Anderson said in a telephone interview this week. “That just couldn’t happen.”

At the mountain top, Anderson found his patient upbeat and doing well after the storm.

Neighbors had helped the veteran with supplies and to get a generator running for power. Neighbors even built a makeshift road after the storm, and Anderson was able to drive his van full of medical supplies to the veteran last week, he said.

For Anderson, it was just one of several of the house calls that he has made to check on elderly veterans in the weeks since Helene struck the area.

He is used to making such visits overseeing the Asheville VA program called Supporting Community Outpatient, Urgent Care, and Telehealth Services, or SCOUTS. The program sends VA medical professionals to visit elderly patients in the days and weeks after an emergency room visit.

Anderson’s trek to reach his patient is an example of the efforts of western North Carolina VA workers to help veterans in Helene’s aftermath, said Stephanie Young, who has served as the director of the Western North Carolina VA Health Care System since 2018.

Asheville VA workers, Young said, visited hundreds of veterans in the days and weeks after the storm. On one welfare check, they found a wheelchair-bound veteran in a flooded home who needed medical care and got him to the emergency room. In another instance, VA workers attempting to reach a more than 90-year-old disable veteran who was running low on medication realized the road to his home was impassable, so they enlisted the local fire department to help them reach his house via an all-terrain utility vehicle and delivered his medicine.

“I witnessed firsthand their unwavering commitment to veterans, and they upheld our [VA] mission, even as they struggled with their own personal losses. … So, not even a hurricane — not even Hurricane Helene could get in our staff’s way of caring for our veterans,” she said.

‘Whatever it takes’

When it became clear that Helene was likely to impact the Asheville area, Young sent the health care system, which includes Asheville’s Charles George medical center and three smaller VA clinics in Hickory, Franklin and Forest City, into its emergency preparedness plans. But no one could have predicted the immense damage Helene would unleash on Asheville after crossing some 500 miles from landfall as a Category 4 storm early Sept. 27 in northwest Florida’s Big Bend region, she said.

As the storm tore across Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina, it left its worst mark on Asheville and its surrounding areas — dumping as much as 31 inches of rainfall on the region in three days, including 15 inches on Sept. 27. It led to record flooding from rivers, including the Swannanoa and French Broad rivers and left Asheville’s popular River Arts District completely underwater.

The storm knocked out power to virtually the entire region, left tens of thousands without access to drinking water and knocked out cellphone communications for most in the area. Anderson said he was stuck in his home for a few days after the storm because of downed trees. His cellphone was not working, and he had no idea about the level of devastation in his surrounding community.

When Anderson set out for work after the storm, he was shocked by the amount of devastation that he saw.

“It looked like a tornado had just gone all the way through the whole town. It’s wild. Nothing I’d ever seen before,” he said. “Going down [Interstate] 70 into work, it’s like three feet of mud on the side of the road all the way down, houses destroyed, trees everywhere. I saw whole neighborhoods just gone. Communities just wiped away. It’s awful.”

Anderson spent the days after the storm delivering medicine, medical supplies, drinking water, body wipes and food to veterans throughout town, including to an apartment building where a handful of his patients, including a 99-year-old World War II veteran, lived on high floors and had no power or drinking water.

As an Army veteran, Anderson said he leaned on his military experiences to push through under the devastating circumstances. He served as an engineering equipment mechanic with the 1st Armored Division’s 40th Engineer Battalion, including a yearlong deployment to Iraq from 2005 to 2006. That experience, he said, prepared him to respond to Helene.

“One hundred percent, without question, it’s been helpful through this,” Anderson said. “It’s that mind frame of have and not need, versus need and not have, and really adapting and overcoming and being willing to do whatever it takes.”

Recovering after the storm

Young credited her staff with the VA systems quick recovery after the storm, which allowed them to get medical professionals quickly to veterans in need. The hospital has largely returned to normal operations since the storm, but it has continued to run on generator power because its normal utility power has yet to be fully restored.

The Western North Carolina VA system serves about 49,000 veterans in a 23-county swath of western North Carolina, and it boasts nearly 2,000 employees.

But even with dedicated workers and solid planning, Young said she could not foresee the response that would be needed after Helene.

Losing communications was the most difficult aspect of the storm, she said. With cellphone towers down and landlines not working through much of the region, Young had no choice but to send her employees out into the devastation to find veterans.

Once the hospital’s phones were working again, she said they started receiving hundreds of calls from family members and caretakers of local veterans asking for their help in checking on their statuses.

Young sent out so-called “tiger teams” — small groups of specialized care professionals — to check on high-risk veterans and see what they might need. Oxygen tanks, bottled water and medications topped the list. In one case, VA employees found a patient whose eyeglasses had broken in the storm. The patient had recently visited the VA for an eye appointment, and he had a pair of glasses that there were ready to be picked up. One of the VA employees went to the eye clinic, rifled through several drawers and found the man’s new glasses, Young said.

“We’re still doing these runs today,” she said Wednesday, almost a month after Helene hit. “Not anywhere near as much as we were originally, but we’re still there. We’re still doing this stuff.”

It is clear, Young said, that it will take years for the Asheville area to fully recover from Helene’s wrath. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday that it would cost at least $52 billion to address storm damage in his state. Helene has been blamed for 96 deaths in North Carolina and the storm damaged or destroyed more than 200,000 homes, officials in the state have said.

On Friday, more than 600 roads remained closed in the Asheville area. Among them was a road off Interstate-40 that leads to the Charles George VA medical center.

“We’re getting back to normal,” Young said. “We’ll definitely get there. Our providers are working so hard to get everything up and running and to increase our number of surgical appointments. Our community center was never closed, and our hospital unit was never closed. It’s a testament, really, to the great work of our employees and how much they care about our veterans.”

Corey Dickstein covers the military in the U.S. southeast. He joined the Stars and Stripes staff in 2015 and covered the Pentagon for more than five years. He previously covered the military for the Savannah Morning News in Georgia. Dickstein holds a journalism degree from Georgia College & State University and has been recognized with several national and regional awards for his reporting and photography. He is based in Atlanta.

previous coverage

Ryan Appleton, owner of The Lazy Tiger Hostel in Woodfin, North Carolina, a town adjacent to Asheville, anticipated that this October would be the business’s best month since it opened in September last year.

He likely wouldn’t have been the only one. According to market research by STR, October has been the top month in terms of hotel revenue for the last three years, bringing in $50 million in revenue to Buncombe County.

But then came the knockout punch of a major rainfall followed by Hurricane Helene on September 27. Some areas of Western North Carolina received more than 30 inches of rain, and the French Broad River that runs through Asheville crested at a record of more than 30 feet. Low-lying neighborhoods flooded, trees downed power lines, and the water system was destroyed.

“The kind of market I was expecting for October is gone,” Appleton says.

Tourism in Asheville and Buncombe County

Last year, visitors spent $3 billion in Asheville and Buncombe County, comprising 20 percent of the county’s Gross domestic product (GDP). It’s easy to see why: Asheville has something for everyone. Mountain bikers and hikers love the mountain trails, foodies feast at James Beard award-winning restaurants and breweries, and art lovers revel in downtown’s Art Deco buildings and the studios in the River Arts District. And then there’s the Biltmore Estate — the nation’s largest private house.

Right now, the majority of visitors entering Asheville are temporary workers and volunteers. But with 29,000 jobs dependent on tourism, opening up to visitors will be a crucial part of the recovery process. As of writing, many neighborhoods and businesses are ready to welcome tourists, though visitors should expect a varied landscape of intact and recovering neighborhoods.

“In a normal year, all travel to just the mountains of North Carolina is a $1.8 billion industry,” says Scott Peacock, director of marketing and PR for Visit North Carolina.

He adds, “That's what's at stake.”

A situation in flux

Three weeks after the storm, a lot of progress has been made. Less than 100 people in Buncombe County were without power on October 23. The city curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. was lifted on Monday, October 21. Many of Asheville’s most popular neighborhoods, including downtown, West Asheville, and Biltmore, suffered minimal damage, and dozens of restaurants, including James Beard award-winning Cúrate, have pivoted from serving free meals to welcoming paying customers again. Even popular concert spots like The Grey Eagle and Eulogy at Burial Beer Co. have already hosted shows.

Water remains the stumbling block. While ninety-five percent of the city has running water as of October 18, all customers are on a boil advisory. County spokesperson Clay Chandler has advised vulnerable populations like immunocompromised people or those with open wounds to boil even before bathing or showering.

Before coming to the area, visitors should consult Visit North Carolina’s travel advisory map. Last weekend (October 19-20), Asheville and Buncombe County changed from red — closed to visitors — to yellow (call ahead for limitations) and green (open to visitors), respectively. Some towns, like Bakersville or Sugar Mountain, may be open even though the larger county is not. DriveNC provides more detailed real-time information on individual roads.

Christmas at Biltmore and beyond

On October 19, Biltmore confirmed its plans to reopen for both day and overnight guests on November 2, the start of the Christmas at Biltmore season. The house, conservatory, and lodgings suffered minimal to no damage, though Biltmore Village, the collection of independent shops and restaurants across from the property, is gone.

“If Biltmore can be up as of the 2nd, then that, I think is really hopeful for everybody,” says Carey Baldwin, owner of InnTuners, a hospitality consulting business in Asheville.

Former guests of Baldwin’s clients, Willy and Shawnie Gruber of 1900 Inn at Montford, a 125 year-old bed-and-breakfast in the historic district of Montford north of downtown, have already expressed a desire to return as early as the end of October, according to Willy. In fact, a brand-new guest to the B&B checked in on October 23, and three repeat visitors have reservations for the following week. “They want to support the community. A lot of people come to Asheville because they love that community spirit,” he says.

Even the heavily damaged River Arts District, where 80 percent of the artist-owned studios and galleries were lost, will reopen with a festival called RAD Fest 1.0 on November 9-10. Hundreds of artists will show their work, with live music and food trucks providing entertainment and nourishment. “We are 90 percent dependent on tourism,” explains Jeffrey Burroughs, a professional jeweler and president of River Arts District Artists.

“If people are here visiting, we're going to need them to come to the RAD,” they add. “We want you to come by, say hi, and maybe buy some art.”

Where to go: Other options for visitors

For people still hoping to see the leaves change, Peacock says that a number of towns in counties that suffered little to no damage are eager to host visitors. “The further you get down into the Smokies and away from Asheville, the lower the elevation, the longer until their peak,” he says.

Cashiers offers a more high-end mountain experience than Asheville, whereas Bryson City has a more down-to-earth atmosphere. It’s a “quintessential mountain town,” Peacock explains, for someone who “experiences the mountain every day and comes back into town for dinner and beers at night.” Many of these areas, including Highlands, are facing steep drops in visits as people mistakenly believe they are still closed.

Given that Asheville is the closest regional airport, Peacock speculates that regional tourists driving from nearby states would likely be in the best position to visit. Drivers should keep in mind, however, that Interstates 40 and 26 Westbound are restricted to essential traffic west of Charlotte and closed at the North Carolina and Tennessee border.

Back in the spring

With winter being the city’s slowest season, Gruber and Appleton are looking eagerly to spring —a season, Gruber noted, that symbolizes rebirth.“It’s a beautiful time of the year,” he says. Some of Appleton’s previous guests have already booked spring dates, eager to support the hostel.

But as beautiful as the scenery is, “the magic that made Asheville ‘Asheville’ has always been its people,” comments Peacock. “You better believe that Asheville is going to come back from this—and will come back better for it.”

Sara Murphy is a freelance writer based outside of Asheville, North Carolina who has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other outlets. Subscribe to her newsletter, “Seeing Sh*t in Books,” here.

Aeroflow Health installed food pantry, established a $400,000+ trust, secured housing for employees, volunteered team members, and licensed one of its facilities to United Way, among other efforts

ASHEVILLE, N.C., Oct. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aeroflow Health, a leading provider of durable medical equipment and health services based in Asheville, NC, has partnered with United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County, among other organizations, to provide immediate relief and supplies following the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Aeroflow Health and United Way quickly collaborated to open a warehouse donation site just days after historic flooding in Western North Carolina devastated the area. In just 15 days, there were more than 700 volunteer responses and more than 2,600 boxes of essential supplies, such as paper goods, baby formula, cleaning products, personal care items and ready-to-eat meals were distributed. To date, the site has received more than 80 supply requests from 59 community organizations. The companies are pleased to share that the donation site is full, and donations are currently being distributed to community partners including nonprofits, schools and local government agencies.

In their initial response, Aeroflow provided over $400,000 of assistance through disaster relief pay to employees in the impacted areas, temporary housing to displaced employees and their families, and creating a pantry stocked with food and essential supplies, such as diapers, baby formula, and hygiene products. This initiative is guided by a needs-first approach, ensuring that resources are allocated based on the specific requirements of displaced employees.

“Community has always been one of our core values at Aeroflow, and that has never been more of a priority than in these past few weeks as we continue to see our community rally together in the wake of this disaster,” said Casey Hite, CEO of Aeroflow Health. “We are grateful for the generosity of our partners who quickly came to our aid and assisted in providing support to our neighbors during this critical time, and we remain committed to providing our community with support and safety by partnering with the organizations who are equally devoted to Western North Carolina’s recovery efforts.”

Despite the many donations and volunteer help, there is still ongoing financial support needed for Western North Carolina’s communities to rebuild. If interested in learning more about volunteer and donation opportunities, please visit https://www.handsonasheville.org. For more information about placing an order to receive supplies, please reach out at 828-772-8662 or complete this online supply request form: https://www.unitedwayabc.org/helene-relief-resources.

For more information about Aeroflow Health and its services, please visit www.aeroflowhealth.com.

About Aeroflow HealthAeroflow Health is a leading provider of durable medical equipment and health services, headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina. Committed to improving quality of life through innovative solutions, Aeroflow Health partners with healthcare providers and communities to offer comprehensive medical equipment and supplies, ensuring patients receive the care they need when they need it most.

Media Contact:FischTank PR aeroflow@fischtankpr.com

GlobeNewswire,is one of the world's largest newswire distribution networks, specializing in the delivery of corporate press releases financial disclosures and multimedia content to the media, investment community, individual investors and the general public.

READ MORE

Many Western NC towns that would normally see a surge of tourists for fall leaf season are not only recovering from the storm’s aftermath but also struggling due to the drop in visitors.

Expand All

Asheville, one of the hardest-hit areas amid Hurricane Helene, is reopening in bits and pieces to cautiously welcome back travelers as recovery efforts there remain underway.

The Sept. 27 storm caused widespread road closures, along with power failures and gas and water outages. Cell phone and internet service was also disrupted, isolating much of the region. Over the past few weeks, however, progress has been made to return many areas of the city — including downtown Asheville — to some level of normalcy.

Now Biltmore — one of Asheville’s biggest attractions — plans to reopen Nov. 2, and Christmas at Biltmore will proceed through Jan. 5.

Biltmore House and its garden, vineyards and lodging spaces were largely undamaged in the storm, although the entrance to the grounds and other areas of the property had flooded. Post-storm repairs and work clear out trees and other debris is ongoing.

[MORE ON BILTMORE: Biltmore Estate sets reopening date, even as parts remain closed due to Helene damage..]

Some parts of Asheville have a much longer road to recovery, however. High impact areas that include parts of the River Arts District, Biltmore Village and Swannanoa are facing heavy repairs, and officials advise staying clear of those areas.

As we continue our series on post-hurricane traveling in Western North Carolina, you can browse our other guides here:

Here is what you need to know about traveling to Asheville in the near future.

Travelers who plan to visit are encouraged to drive to Asheville with caution and safety in mind. Many roadways in and around Asheville are closed for repairs due to damage from Helene, although main roads have reopened.

Drivers should check www.Drivenc.gov for the most recent information before heading out.

If you had previous plans in motion for an Asheville trip, check with your lodging provider ahead of time to confirm availability. Some rentals are being used to house displaced residents, repair crews and aid workers.

Travelers looking for accommodations can also check this list of major hotel brands operating in the area and contact the Visit NC Call Center at 1-800-VISITNC for assistance in finding availability.

Other places to check include:

Carolina Mornings

Location: Multiple

Carolina Mornings isn’t taking tourism related reservations until Nov. 1. After that, you can browse its stock of 156 rental properties to find a home or cabin that will work for you. Carolina Mornings also offers a guest loyalty program for travelers who visit frequently.

Greybeard Rentals

Location: Multiple

Greybeard manages about 250 cabins and vacation rentals in the Asheville area, with a variety of options to suit your needs. Pet-friendly accommodations are available, and some specials are even listed for travel through the end of the year and into January.

Many restaurants are open for services, although some have limited hours. Check Explore Asheville’s guide to restaurants and other businesses that are currently serving customers before you go. Here are a few to check out, as well:

Biscuit Head

Location: 733 Haywood Rd Asheville, NC 28806

Biscuit Head has multiple locations, although some were hard hit by the storm. (Its Haywood Road and Biltmore Avenue locations remain closed.) At the Haywood Road location, you can load up on a hearty breakfast of biscuits and gravy, biscuit doughnuts or even biscuit French toast topped with strawberry syrup and powdered sugar. Gluten-free and vegan biscuits are available.

Old Europe Pastries

Location: 18 Broadway St Asheville, NC 28801

You may have seen that Old Europe Pastries was featured on NBC for feeding unused wedding cakes to folks in the storm’s aftermath. It’s now open again, serving croissants, pies and other sweet treats.

West Village Market & Deli

Location: 771 Haywood Road, Asheville, NC 28806

West Village Market & Deli, which was operating the store even without lights to serve customers, has fully reopened and restocked. Its grab-and-go deli selection includes vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free selections.

Wild Ginger Noodle Bar

Location: 1950 Hendersonville Road Suite #12, Asheville, NC

Wild Ginger Noodle Bar has fully reopened and added Tuesday service to feed guests seven days a week. The highly popular Vietnamese restaurant serves up pho, along with noodles, rice dishes and banh mi.

Bonus: Your favorite Asheville restaurants with Charlotte locations that have reopened include:

[SAVAGE STORM: Charlotte restaurateurs had to watch from afar while Helene destroyed their Asheville locations.]

Check advisories while planning your trip, and note that many areas in Western North Carolina — including parts of Asheville — are facing extended recovery times.

Storm cleanup is underway in many parts of Western North Carolina. Make sure to get the most up-to-date information you can before you head out.

This story was originally published October 25, 2024, 6:00 AM.