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Original post Sprinklers running at a local luxury hotel upset some observers as the city of Asheville (and beyond) are without municipal water service close to two weeks after Hurricane Helene. Posts circulating on social media showed the sprinklers on the Omni Grove Park Inn golf course running on Tuesday. The golf course is using […]

Original post Local schools will start digging their own well water systems in order to bring school services back online. “We can’t wait until the [municipal water system] is fully repaired to open our schools,” Asheville City Schools Superintendent Maggie Fehrman said at Buncombe County’s daily briefing. No timeline has been announced for when Asheville’s […]

Original post Water service will connect between Black Mountain and Asheville for the purpose of starting repairs – do not drink the water, officials warn. Starting Thursday, Oct. 10, the Black Mountain system will connect to the Asheville water supply. This is not drinkable water, even if you boil it. This water should not be […]

Original post The United States Postal Service is resuming service to many routes in Western North Carolina, according to a statement released by the agency late Tuesday. “Significant work” remains in order to “deliver a backlog of mail and packages and reopen routes in the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Helene,” the statement said. Locations […]

Original post Buncombe County Board of Elections announced modifications to the early election sites because of Hurricane Helene. An emergency resolution of the State Board of Elections gave the local authorities some flexibility to adapt to the post-storm conditions. Early voting in Buncombe County will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., from Oct. […]

Original post Among the 121 people killed in North Carolina during Hurricane Helene, one more person has been confirmed dead in Avery County. The report from the NC Department of Health and Human Services brings the number of fatalities in Avery County up to four total including a 58-year-old man who may have been involved […]

Original post Macon County Emergency Management announced Tuesday that it has finished the damage assessment in the county following Helene. The county fared better than many further east in the region but some residents are now without homes. The reports says that two residential structures were damaged to the extent that they are uninhabitable. Twenty-four […]

Original post US 441/Newfound Gap Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) is open 24 hours a day. The park was forced to close overnight due to illegal, large commercial vehicles attempting to travel the road. GSMNP officials said that the park has turned away 173 commercial vehicles over five days. Officials explained that […]

Original post Mountain Bizworks, a regional nonprofit that provides loans and training to small businesses, is launching a rapid recovery loan program to assist Western North Carolina small businesses in recovering from the devastating impacts of Helene. On Monday, The WNC Strong: Helene Business Recovery Fund launched with an initial $7.5 million in support from […]

Original post After multiple viral posts on social media concerning potential chemical exposure, volunteers and residents engaged in Helene cleanup have begun to worry that a PVC pipe manufacturer in Asheville may have spilled volatile compounds into the water. Though it was difficult to tell where the source of this information was, many residents of […]