When Recovery Becomes Resilience: Two-Year Anniversary of Hurricane Helene

By: Bill Slagle, Executive Director, Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Commission

Two years ago, it was difficult to imagine what recovery would look like for Mitchell County.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the destruction across our community was devastating. Long-standing businesses suddenly faced an uncertain future, while families, employers and neighbors were left trying to understand what would come next.

I remember surveying the damage and thinking: How are we going to come back from this?

The wind damage was immediately visible. Trees and power lines were down, homes were damaged, roads were impassable and the landscape itself looked transformed. Then, as people were able to venture out, the extent of the flooding became clear.

In downtown Spruce Pine and downtown Bakersville the scale of the flooding was difficult to comprehend. The Toe River and Cane Creek had risen far beyond anything most people had ever seen, leaving water and mud throughout downtown businesses. As Patti Jensen, the former director of operations for the Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce, remembers, seeing where the water had reached along the walls of downtown buildings was almost impossible to process.

For many residents, the first hours and days after the storm were about simply taking care of the people immediately around them. Jensen remembers neighbors checking on elderly residents and people with special needs, finding ways to provide water and preparing meals for those who had nowhere else to turn.

As people began to venture farther into the community, they encountered a level of destruction that was difficult to absorb. Yet they also began to see something else: help arriving from beyond Mitchell County.

At First Baptist Church in Spruce Pine, one of the few places able to function as a gathering point, people came together to provide shelter, food, information and assistance. Soon, trucks began arriving from Raleigh, Charlotte, South Carolina and Georgia, carrying water, equipment and supplies. People would pull up and simply say they were there to help.

“That was humbling,” Jensen said.

The response reflected something that became evident throughout the recovery: Mitchell County’s greatest resource was its people. Residents whose own homes and businesses had been damaged were helping their neighbors. Business owners and employees were digging mud out of buildings. Employers were checking on their workers and, when possible, sending them into the community to help.

The damage was extensive. Major employers in the region were affected, and hundreds of Mitchell County workers temporarily could not get to their jobs. Businesses such as Sibelco and Buck Stove suffered significant damage, while Baxter Healthcare’s nearby manufacturing facility in McDowell County sustained extensive flooding. The Quartz Corp., one of Mitchell County’s major employers, also sustained damage to a rail spur serving its operation.

Yet even in those first difficult days, the community began looking ahead.

Today, two years after Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, Mitchell County looks remarkably different. Nearly 50 businesses have reopened. Storefronts have come back to life, local employers have rebuilt and our community is once again welcoming friends, neighbors and visitors.

That progress has been driven by the determination of people across Mitchell County, along with partners who stepped forward when our community needed them most. The North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) was one of those partners.

Following the disaster, NCRR developed the Back-on-Track Disaster Recovery Program to support immediate relief and long-term recovery in communities across North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene. Through the program, Mitchell County was awarded the $300,000 grant—$50,000 for the Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce and $250,000 to support repairs to a rail spur serving Spruce Pine’s The Quartz Corp.

The Chamber and Economic Development Commission (EDC) are co-located and work hand-in-hand to support existing business and attract new investment. When the Chamber learned that the venue for their largest fundraiser, the NC Mineral and Gem Festival, was damaged and the event would be canceled, NCRR’s operational support allowed the Chamber to sustain operations and focus on helping our businesses and community navigate the challenges of recovery.

In the weeks following the storm, the Chamber became an important resource for local businesses. With county and municipal leaders focused on restoring essential services such as water and power, the Chamber and EDC were able to concentrate on helping businesses identify resources, navigate assistance programs and find the information they needed to rebuild.

For the Chamber, NCRR’s support meant more than keeping the organization operating. It allowed us to continue serving businesses at a moment when they needed us most.

But what stood out to me wasn’t just the financial assistance.

NCRR understood that communities recovering from a disaster need more than a check. They need partners who are willing to listen, understand the challenges on the ground and stand alongside them as they rebuild.

That gave us hope!

NCRR made the process straightforward, recognized what people in Mitchell County were going through and approached recovery with compassion. At a time when so many people were dealing with loss and uncertainty, that mattered.

The same spirit was evident among Mitchell County’s businesses. In the aftermath of the storm, companies weren’t simply focused on reopening. They were checking on employees, helping their communities and finding ways to contribute to the recovery.

The Quartz Corp., for example, encouraged its employees to take care of their families and property first, then return to the community to help where they were needed. Employees spent those early days assisting at shelters, clearing trees and helping neighbors.

That kind of response became part of the larger recovery story.

Two years after Hurricane Helene, there is still work ahead. Recovery doesn’t happen overnight, and the impact of a disaster like this doesn’t disappear simply because businesses reopen.

Mitchell County is still working through infrastructure improvements, and the continued closure of a major Blue Ridge Parkway connection has had an ongoing impact on tourism and traffic into the community. There is more rebuilding to do, and some effects of the storm will be felt for years to come.

But when I look around Mitchell County today, I see progress.

In the months after the storm, we said that Mitchell County would come out of the disaster either better or worse, but we would not come out the same. Today, we can see that commitment taking shape. Downtown Spruce Pine has been transformed.

We are no longer simply asking how we will recover. We are building toward what comes next. Plan a visit to discover Mitchell County.