Most months our print schedule can stifle my ability to discuss recent events.
We enjoy—and I believe you appreciate—the Smoky Mountain Living stories of what happened “back when,” whether it’s Jim Casada’s recipes from his grandparents’ day to essays like that found at the back of this edition; a Christmas story featuring a farm tractor restored by writer Barbara Weddle’s cousin Gilbert.
It’s difficult to figure out how to address the current situation in the mountains as I am writing this editorial for the December/January edition.
Nonetheless, it would be insensitive to share a funny tale about my grandmother on this page when this magazine’s core geographic heart was ripped out and washed downstream by the devastation of Hurricane Helene in the waning days of September.
“Some hurricanes are remembered for their wind damage or rainfall. Others for their coastal flooding. Hurricane Helene was a stew of all of that and more,” wrote University of South Carolina geographer and climatologist Cary Mock. “Its near-record-breaking size, storm surge, winds and rainfall together turned Helene into an almost unimaginable disaster that stretched more than 500 miles inland.”
Flip back through the past editions of Smoky Mountain Living magazine. Few locations we’ve profiled on those pages haven’t been directly or indirectly impacted by this storm. The wind and flooding inundated towns, swept away bridges and erased homes and businesses.
It took too many lives.
I saw water up to the roofs on homes near Waynesville, and I saw water flowing across Interstate 26 south of Asheville.
“In South Carolina, the storm was so big that its rain bands covered the entire state. The National Weather Service at Greenville-Spartanburg reported that Upstate South Carolina received 8 to 24 inches of rain,” Professor Mock wrote.
“Helene ranked as a Category 4 storm, but its damage was on par with some of the most destructive hurricanes in history,” he added.
“Damage estimates from what we have been able to assess to this point are up to several billion dollars and we’re not done,” said North Carolina Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins. “The damage to our roads and bridges is like nothing we’ve ever seen after any storm, and this will be a long-term recovery operation. But, we will be here until Western North Carolina can get back on its feet,” he said.
Virginia reported hundreds of homes and businesses damaged, roads washed out, and water systems impacted.
I saw tractor trailers blown off the highways in Southwest Virginia as I drove into the region as the storm arrived, and I swear I saw a tornado in the clouds near Wytheville.
“This is going to be a long restoration/rebuild process,” said Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The storm had major impact across East Tennessee. Multiple bridges over the Nolichucky River were compromised, and it could be quite a while before Interstate 40 reopens near the Tennessee-North Carolina line.
Twin bridges on Interstate 26 near Erwin, Tennessee, were destroyed in the storm. The closure is expected to be lengthy, says Tennessee DOT.
Damage to the Appalachian Trail was widespread, and look further in this edition to see Holly Kays’ story about damage within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The storm destroyed the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ fish hatcheries, wiping out the tribe’s entire fall stock of rainbow trout.
Most of Asheville water customers are getting non-potable water. Asheville officials say it will be weeks before all customers at all elevations have safe drinking water from the tap.
However, what is as important to mention when I write of Helene is the fact that so many destinations are open and ready for you. Gatlinburg is open for business, as is Greenville, South Carolina, and its surrounding towns. There are uncounted destinations open and waiting for you in Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Upstate South Carolina, Western North Carolina, and Northern Alabama.
For those that can’t welcome you right now, rest assured they are doing everything they can to get things fixed and the doors open.
It will be a muted holiday for many who are still reeling. But we’re not going to let the storm ruin the season.
—Jonathan Austin