A recovery update one month after Helene

Hurricane Helene began devastating the American Southeast and Caldwell County late Thursday, September 26, as a tropical storm. Here are some updates on the recovery a month after the initial impact.

PowerPower has been fully restored in the province, with Duke Energy, Blue Ridge Energy and Rutherford Electric reporting 0 customers experiencing outages as of October 25.

Blue Ridge Energy announced on Oct. 13 that it had restored full power to its service area, according to a news release from the cooperative. Several hundred Duke Energy customers, mostly concentrated in Henderson and Rutherford counties, are still without power.

RoadsAccording drivenc.gova few Caldwell roads are still closed because of Helene: Edgemont Church Place and Brown Mountain Beach Road, which have been declared impassable, and Waterfalls Road, which remains closed. According to the site, Edgemont will be closed at least until Halloween.

Caldwell County

County Public Information Officer Paige Counts shared that debris removal is a large part of the county’s current recovery efforts. Debris removal contractor SDR works through local subcontractors to collect storm debris in three passes throughout the province. The contractors will make passes on public, private and closed roads to collect, at one pass each, fallen tree debris, contraction debris and loose items such as furniture. Counts said more contractors have been added recently to speed up the removal process, but it will be quite some time before the debris removal can be completed.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has established a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) office on the third floor of the Caldwell County Health and Human Services building on Morganton Boulevard.

Small Business Administration (SBA) representatives also work out of the DRC, so those seeking an SBA loan may want to visit the center or schedule an appointment with a representative to see what types of loan assistance are available.

For both FEMA and the SBA, applicants are encouraged to apply for these federal programs and their insurance at the same time.

According to Counts, local municipalities are taking steps to ensure that local funds spent on recovery can be reimbursed through FEMA and the SBA, working with representatives from those agencies to understand what actions, paperwork, etc. are needed to to ensure that the refund can be made.

Collettsville

According to counts, recovery efforts are still underway in Collettsville, which was hardest hit by the storm in the province. Many homes, bridges and roads will require repairs or reconstruction, and removing debris will take time. The local parks committee is taking steps to rebuild after significant damage to a community park.

Wilson CreekAssistant county ranger Harley Andrews of the North Carolina Forest Service said the service and NCDOT were both involved in cleanup efforts in and around the Wilson Creek area, with the Forest Service removing fallen trees and installing a pedestrian bridge to increase access for residents in to restore the area. area. According to Andrews, all residents currently have the ability to enter and exit the area, although he encourages non-residents to avoid the area until more information is known.