Recovery crews shift focus to remove submerged Helene debris in Lake Lure

Yahoo

17-04-2025

LAKE LURE, N.C. (WSPA) — In the wake of Hurricane Helene, the town of Lake Lure has become the stage for one of the largest disaster recovery missions in the state.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) gave 7NEWS an inside look at the ongoing mission to remove debris from one of the region's most scenic and impacted waterways.
It's been almost 200 days since Hurricane Helene tore through western North Carolina.
Since then, the USACE has led a massive recovery effort across 16 counties, including Rutherford County, where Lake Lure and Chimney Rock are located.
It's an area where scenic trails and calm waters once welcomed visitors.
The aftermath of the storm left a much different scene. More than six months have passed, and tree limbs can still be found mangled in splintered docks, and shorelines are buried beneath layers of sand and sediment.
'The water that came down, 28-foot high water, pretty much wiping out Chimney Rock, North Carolina which ended up here in our lake in Lake Lure devastating the infrastructure. So, we were very much on our heels from day one,' said David DiOrio, Mayor Pro-Tem of Lake Lure. 'Right after that, we started seeing elements of the army show up to help.'
USACE said they've completed nearly all of its assigned Right of Way mission clearing roads and surfaces. They've accounted for more than 1.99 million cubic yards of debris removal in that area alone – equivalent to nearly 46,000 shipping containers.
After months of work clearing roads and surfaces, crews said they've now transitioned to a new phase of recovery — removing debris from beneath the deepest parts of Lake Lure.
'This is where we're doing a lot of the deeper water removal out here on the lake. A lot of the sand, silt, and sediment and stuff came in from off the Chimney Rock side,' said George Minges, lead debris subject matter expert with USACE. 'We'll be working throughout the lake as we do that over the next few months.'
'We have a few pieces of equipment out here. We have the dozers, we have these haul trucks that are being filled with sediment below the Flowering Bridge,' said Josh Tutt, Polk County & Lake Lure Quality Assurance Supervisor with USACE. 'Once they fill them with sediment, they haul all the dirt to the dry piles so they can be taken care of. We let it sit for 24 hours to dry out and then transport it out.'
Tutt was part of an extensive, federally-funded mission involving the USACE in Rutherford County, along with other state and local partners.
The cleanup tapped into national resources with heavy machinery deployed in remote and mountainous areas to access hard-to-reach debris fields.
'What we're doing here, under FEMA's authority, we're helping people. And we're not going anywhere,' said Maj. Gen. Jason Kelly, deputy commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations with USACE. 'We've set some target dates for competition. One of my tasks from D.C. as the deputy commanding general for civil and emergency operations is to ensure that we stay on task.'
Military leaders said they've removed more than 4 million cubic yards of hurricane-related debris across the named disaster areas in western North Carolina. It's an amount that operational leaders expect to climb.
'As a 31-year veteran, I am used to playing the away game. So often that I am forward in some other country doing it for those back home, but here, we're serving America in America,' said Maj. Gen. Kelly.
Crews said the work will likely last for several more months to cleanup and rebuild an area that has been completely remapped by devastating floods, landslides, and widespread infrastructure damage following Hurricane Helene.
'There are some large logs and various other materials that have basically been impaled into the bottom of the lake. There are still areas that you can not safely traverse or use as a recreant here on the lake whether you are out on a canoe or whether you are in a boat,' said Col. Brad Morgan, USACE. 'We've got to get that stuff removed so that's no longer a hazard.'
As recovery efforts continue, residents are urged to stay clear of cleanup zones and to follow local guidelines for debris sorting and placement.
A recovery effort of this scale is a reminder of the coordination and resilience it takes to rebuild — one yard of debris at a time.
'There's so much to be proud of. To see the resilience, to witness the inspiration of others committed to recovery. I was able to see recreation here before the storm and to now see the work that needs to be done to be on track,' said Maj. Gen. Kelly.
'Our goal is to get the blood flowing back into our community and that is getting our Chimney Rock State Park opened, which is right up the road here and opening up the lake; getting Lake Lure healthy again,' said DiOrio. 'Safe water and navigable water open to recreational water sports is really the heartbeat of the community. So once we get that debris out, there is no longer a threat to having a potentially hazardous situation and then all the waters will be opened up again. We're hoping for the best.'
Mayor DiOrio said officials are confident the lake will be ready for recreational use by next summer. In the meantime, local shops are open for business.
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