Aftermath of Hurricane Helene in the NC mountains, late fall 2024

Fall colors aren't quite over yet in North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Parkway goes right next to Asheville. Getting the road open to the Folk Art Center is a big deal. The Biltmore estate and gardens re-opened on Nov. 2. They set up for Christmas, as they usually do in late fall. Hopefully there will be people heading to the area to spend some tourist dollars in the next couple months. If I weren't headed to Boston for Snowbound Expo, I'd probably make a short trip to Asheville in the next couple weeks.
Don’t drink the Asheville tap water yet.
When I went to Milan the folks there didn’t drink their tap water either so there’s that.
 
The Asheville water system got back to normal yesterday. Water from the North Fork reservoir is being treated, "raw water" has been flushed from the entire system, and testing has been completed all over the system. So there is no longer a "boil water" situation in effect.

The recent updates in the Citizen-Times included various notes related to debris removal in the city. It will be a long time before the "new normal" is established in the area, even in the areas of the city and towns that were not devastated by direct flooding or debris flows.

I-40 at the NC/TN line could open by New Year's with 1-lane each way for cars. Commercial truck traffic is out of luck for for foreseeable future. Won't be the first time in recent decades that a major repair has meant long detours for tractor-trailers. Usually because of landslides, not the complete undermining of the roadbed.

November 5, 2024
 
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