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Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina hard, causing more than $50 billion in damage. But the region is rebounding, welcoming visitors and new businesses thanks to equal parts resilience, generosity and community spirit.

It has been 10 months since Hurricane Helene roared north from the Gulf, dropping upward of 31 inches of rain on western North Carolina. That pounding washed away mountain slopes, roads, businesses and homes, causing more than $50 billion in damage. And while a haze of uncertainty remains over the 18-county region, whose natural beauty is internationally known, it’s clear that its residents’ resiliency will see it to better times.

Recovery efforts began as soon as the clouds parted, and they continue as a collaborative process. “While our region has much healing to do, the experience has only strengthened our spirit and generosity,” says Clark Duncan, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce senior vice president of economic development. “I’ve been especially moved by the leadership of our business community, the quiet philanthropy, and extraordinary investments made in caring for employees and our most impacted neighbors. Whether you are a resident, a visitor or a business investing in the region, the comeback is tangible, and the future is bright.”

Federal Emergency Management Agency, American Red Cross, Samaritan’s Purse and local groups, combined with convoys carrying supplies from churches and disaster outreach efforts elsewhere in the state, have brought relief to the region’s residents. Local efforts are rebuilding the economy. Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce organized a business scavenger hunt, and more than 50 businesses participated in Restaurant Week during January. The #WNCOpenForBusiness campaign highlights businesses, destinations, festivals and events that are ready for tourists, which fuel a large portion of the region’s economy. “We live here, we have families here, and the hospitality has been woven into the fabric” says Vic Isley, Explore Asheville president and CEO. “Much of western North Carolina is open and ready and eager to welcome everyone. So, don’t feel worried. Feel hopeful and be a part of our collective comeback.”

Tourism isn’t the only industry mounting a comeback in western North Carolina. There have been announcements of jobs, commitments at industrial parks and plenty of reopenings. “The resilience of our business community is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen,” says Tommy Dennison, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce director of member development. “We’re seeing businesses that sustained physical damage reopen in recent months and expect more to open through the summer.”

Assistance working

Swannanoa Grassroots Alliance was formed in its namesake Buncombe County community. It’s a network of residents, neighborhood groups, nonprofits, churches and businesses helping to rebuild. “This group grew out of existing neighborhood organizations as well as the organic gathering of volunteers immediately after the storm,” says Erin Leonard, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce vice president of communications.

Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce launched Mountain Strong Fund for Business Recovery after Helene. It collected more than $1.1 million in donations. The money was distributed through grants to more than 55 impacted small businesses and 16 regional chambers of commerce last winter.

And community development financial institution Mountain BizWorks organized Asheville-Buncombe Rebuilding Together Grant Fund, which has distributed more than $4.4 million in grants to almost 400 small businesses through an effort that includes Buncombe County, city of Asheville and Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. “We definitely saw an outpouring of generosity post-storm and new collaborations emerge,” Leonard says. “Collaboration is part of the fabric of our community. Those connections and relationships were crucial post-storm and allowed the community to leverage those relationships to make things happen quickly.”

As of late May, LoveHendo Business Recovery Fund had awarded $272,000 to 90 Henderson County businesses affected by Helene. “We had never been here before in the mountains after a hurricane, so we did not know our next step,” says Brittany Brady, Henderson County Economic Development president. “Providing businesses with resources post-Helene is going to be instrumental in not only good business practices but also reminding companies how resilient we are and how far we can grow into the future. The plan for industry will be a checklist and for our office a vision for the next few years.”

Grants from LoveHendo and Mountain BizWorks are a lifeline for family-owned businesses such as Fletcher-based Asheville Thermoform Plastics. “Our 15,000-square-foot facility was flooded in Hurricane Helene,” says Bill Trometer, owner and founder. “We had over 40 inches deep of flood water and mud throughout the facility. All our office furniture and computers were ruined. All the drywall walls had to be ripped out and replaced. We had significant damage to our equipment and machinery. We lost almost the entire fourth quarter of revenue.”

Trometer’s business sits on 5 acres inside Cane Creek Industrial Park. It’s not considered a flood zone, so he didn’t have flood insurance. “We were on our own,” he says. “We applied for and received grants from LoveHendo and a recovery loan from Mountain BizWorks, and they have been extremely helpful toward our recovery. We are more than 90% back to manufacturing and about 75% complete on our facility repairs. Our recovery is a tribute to our dedicated employees and family who have and continue to work tirelessly to make it happen.”

Trometer started his company 30 years ago, and the family’s next generation is helping guide it into the future. “We got knocked down but not out,” he says. “And we are back, and we will be better and stroner than ever.”

Tourism returning

Optimism is bubbling up across western North Carolina, and there’s plenty in the region’s tourism industry, especially in Asheville and Buncombe County. Visitors directly spent almost $3 billion there in 2023, when one in seven jobs — about 29,000 — were tourism-related, according to a Tourism Economics study. “There is a sense of revival and renewal here,” Isley says. “The sense of belonging and place is stronger than ever. And while it’s sad to see some of our beloved businesses close their doors, it also is heartening to see others open and re-open, and that’s happening every day.”

Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority created a graphic illustrating the recovery journey from a natural disaster. It starts with predisaster — the warning, threat, impact and evaluating of planning and preparation efforts — and continues to the current disillusionment era and ends with the next chapter of reconstruction and re-emergence of a new normal routine.

The graphic’s accompanying Travel & Hospitality Community Update states: “Despite the remarkable progress we’ve made, this visual reminder confirms what many are feeling — we have a considerable journey ahead before reaching the reconstruction/new beginning phase. The graphic reveals we’ve entered that critical valley where processing grief and acceptance are essential before rebuilding can fully take hold. Yet, standing here in western North Carolina after experiencing Helene’s impact firsthand, we are more convinced than ever of our region’s resilience.

“This place, ancient in its natural beauty and rich cultural heritage, continues to evolve as it has for generations. And the people who are drawn to and bound by this place continue to be creative, steadfast and full of gumption. Within this evolution and dedication lies tremendous opportunity for thoughtful and intentional redevelopment.” ■

— Kathy Blake is a writer from eastern North Carolina.

When it Counts

Western North Carolina is open to tourists. The best way to give back is to come back — the most impactful thing to support western NC is to spend tourism dollars here.

Summer and fall events calendars across western North Carolina are offering visitors and residents plenty to do, from symphony performances to wilderness hikes. Each entry takes advantage of the region’s unique resources. In its western-most corner — Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon, Jackson and Haywood counties — there’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee National Forest and Tail of the Dragon, an 11-mile stretch of road with 318 curves, every motorcyclist’s or sports-car enthusiast’s dream.

Grandfather Mountain, Tweetsie Railroad, Linville Falls, and hiking and camping are in the region’s High Country — Ashe, Watauga, Avery, Mitchell, Yancey, Alleghany and Wilkes counties. And the Foothills — Buncombe, Haywood, Jackson, Transylvania, Polk, Rutherford, Mitchell, McDowell, Madison and Caldwell — is home to Biltmore Estates, Blue Ridge Parkway, Chimney Rock State Park, Lake Lure, camping, zip-lining and waterfalls.

Explore Asheville President and CEO Vic Isley says the region is ready to host visitors. “I think the message is come out and have a great time,” she says. “When Gov. (Josh) Stein was here having lunch with some of the small-business owners, his message to the rest of the state was that the most fun public service you’ll ever do is to come to western North Carolina and support its small businesses.” That’s good news. Buncombe County Tourism Development says more than 90% of businesses are locally owned and more than $541 million was spent on retail, $366 million on recreation and entertainment, and $787 million on food and beverage in 2023.

Industry rebounding

Long-range planning, along with recent business expansions and job announcements in western North Carolina, offer encouragement. Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County helped attract three relocations and nine expansions during the first three months of the year. They’re adding 1,540 jobs to the region. “[They’re a] much-needed boost of confidence for the region,” says Clark Duncan, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce senior vice president of economic development.

“Buncombe County was fortunate to have navigated the obvious challenges of the past five years with a string of economic wins for our residents that total a record-setting $1.5 billion in new investment in our tax base. These include significant advanced-manufacturing investments from Pratt & Whitney, GE Aerospace, Borg Warner and System Logistics, locally headquartered expansions from Industry Nine, East Fork and Poppy Handcrafted Popcorn as well as relocated [consumer packaged goods] headquarters for Legally Addictive Foods and Life’s Abundance.”

Aerospace company Pratt & Whitney, a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units, has more than 17,000 customers in more than 200 countries. It announced an expansion at its Asheville turbine airfoil factory in January. The $285 million investment will create 325 jobs. Their average annual salary will be $62,413, more than Buncombe County’s $54,416 average. “[The expansion] is a testament to the region’s deep talent pool and industry leading partnership with Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College,” says Sabrina Rockoff, Asheville EDC board chair.

Enka Commerce Park, west of Asheville in Candler, is home to 15 businesses, including Freudenberg Group, Haakon Industries, Magnera, New Belgium Brewing, Southeastern Container, TSA Choice and Wicked Weed Brewing. In February, Asheville EDC announced the opening of a bridge and access roads, capping a decade of strategic infrastructure investment in the park. Buncombe County investments of more than $10 million supported the bridge overpass and completion of the Enka Heritage Parkway and Bob Lewis Sports Park. “These vital investments in modern infrastructure and state-of-the-art buildings will support continued economic growth in alignment with the AVL 5×5 Strategic Plan,”

Rockoff says.

Asheville EDC launched its first five-year AVL 5×5 in 2010, uniting the city, county, business leaders, educational institutions and the community toward a common goal of growing employment, wages, target industries and economic vitality. Its latest installment runs through 2030. Its Signature Recovery Projects include the establishment of WNC Futures Factory. Six of the region’s community colleges and five universities are designing the innovation hub to support local industries, helping them compete in the global economy and providing workforce training.

An annual site selection familiarization tour will be hosted to reinforce that Asheville and Buncombe County are open for business. EDC plans to show about 10 site consultants representing target industries, in conjunction “with state partners and other influencers who need to know the region’s comeback story,” during the multiday event.

EDC’s prognostication for 2040 includes adding $3 billion more to the economy than the current trajectory, increasing the average annual wage to $116,000 and having 4,600 additional jobs in target industries. “The ongoing work and value of economic development is highlighted especially during times like these,” Duncan says. “Events like the recession, pandemic or natural disasters rarely come with warning. It’s especially important as a state, and as individual regions and communities, that we are thinking strategically about how to prepare for and mitigate the impacts of these economic blows, through consistent and strategic economic growth.”

Henderson County unveiled a Recovery Action Plan in April. “[It includes] clear direction on disaster response for industry, the community and the organization,” says Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development President and CEO Brittany Brady. “We also ran a marketing campaign post storm called ‘Swift Recovery’ to highlight the resiliency of the county and being back open for business.”

Food-and-beverage manufacturer Lassonde has already acted on Henderson County’s message. It announced a $53 million expansion at its Hendersonville factory in January. The new single-serve production line will create 30 jobs. The company will spend an additional $20 million on innovation and efficiency at the plant, underscoring its commitment to a future in the region. ■

— Kathy Blake is a writer from eastern North Carolina.