N.C. Campgrounds Battling Back After Hurricane Helene – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
Campgrounds across the mountains of western North Carolina that were devastated by Hurricane Helene last fall have been racing to make repairs in preparation for the summer camping season.
The good news is that most parks that suffered significant damage have already reopened or expect to open by Memorial Day weekend, including the Asheville East KOA Holiday in Swannanoa, which was devastated by the late September hurricane.
Kelly Self, a KOA spokesperson, said the Swannanoa campground will reopen in phases, initially with 64 RV sites, a playground, a basketball court and a small general store.
“We’re hopeful the pool will be open as well, but this is pending permits,” Self said, adding that KOA hopes to add cabins and additional sites in the future.
While some parks have remained closed and have no reopening dates as yet, such as Wilson’s Riverfront RV Park in Asheville and Buck Hill Campground in Newland, others that suffered considerable damage have reopened or will reopen soon.
River Country Campground & RV Park in Piney Creek, which was submerged under 10 feet of stormwater during Hurricane Helene, has already reopened, according to park owner Ann Singer.
When Woodall’s Campground Magazine caught up with Singer in late April, she was busy preparing her campground for an influx of campers, but she concedes she still has a lot of work to do, from replacing the gravel on her campsites that washed away to installing new picnic tables, fire rings and a children’s playground.
Singer said her post-hurricane spirits were buoyed, however, by a $5,000 grant from the OHI Foundation. The Carolinas Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (CARVC) also sponsored her attendance at CARVC’s February conference, and she received a donated auction item from a board member to help with her marketing.
“CARVC and OHI were the biggest emotional support for me right after the hurricane,” Singer said. “The decision to join them was one of the best things I’ve ever done.”
Dee Moore, who manages marketing for Mama Gertie’s Hideaway Campground in Swannanoa and The Great Outdoors RV Resort located in Franklin, said the Asheville, Swannanoa, Black Mountain and Franklin areas were particularly hard hit by Helene. But she said these communities are resilient and are rebuilding, despite many challenges.
Mama Gertie’s Hideaway Campground expects to reopen May 15, but the road to recovery has been very difficult, according to park owner Lewis Cottler, who emailed WCM a statement documenting his park’s recovery efforts and the lack of support he received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and his insurance provider.
“When the hurricane hit Buncombe County, the aftermath was devastating,” he wrote. “Most of my team and staff were displaced. We lost all power and telecommunications. FEMA’s response time was terrible. Supplies took over 45 days from FEMA. Luckily, we had a property in Georgia, and we were supplying our staff with all essentials: water, food, gas, propane, etc. We had a small generator. My team and I had to handle everything. Our staff essentially used our own equipment to clear out debris from the landslides.”
Ultimately, FEMA was of no help at all.
“They dropped the ball,” Cottler wrote. “Nobody from FEMA ever came to our property, even after we were putting in requests for help.”
Cottler said his insurance coverage was of no use, either.
“The insurance handled our property, flood, and liability insurance for over eight years,” Cottler wrote, adding, “Within days, an Insurance Adjuster came out. With no power, telecommunications or running water, the adjuster evaluated the property. The insurance company and the adjuster determined that they had found an exclusion, and they washed their hands of us.
Cottler is optimistic about his loan application with the Small Business Administration, however.
“SBA has come through. Our loan was approved. We are six months into the process,” Cottler explained. “It’s been a long, tough road for both properties, Mama Gertie’s and our sister property, The Great Outdoors. Our goal is to try and open both properties by May 15. We are a family-run operation, and everything we have has gone into the business. We’re hoping the future looks bright and that the consumer still cares about the mom-and-pop business. It’s a labor of love for my family and me. We have five properties, from North Carolina (and Georgia) to Florida.”
Moore, for her part, said in an email that repairs will continue to be made at Mama Gertie’s throughout the camping season.
“Repairs to retaining walls, decks, landscaping, and infrastructure have been made or are in process,” she said. “A new water feature was added due to the storm rerouting a mountain stream. We are waiting on the asphalt plant to open to the public to repave the roads. Some repairs will be ongoing throughout the season. We need to re-roof at least one building, (and) replace (or) repair our glamping tents and cabins.”
As much damage as Mama Gertie’s suffered, the destruction was far worse in Swannanoa.
“Swannanoa still looks like a war zone,” Moore said. “Folks less than a mile from the campground are still living in tents, RVs, and destroyed housing without running water, sewer, or electricity. … While there was significant damage to the campground, we were more fortunate than most of the town and the surrounding areas. Many buildings and homes were destroyed. Cars and trucks littered roads, parking lots, and the rivers and streams. Numerous people were unaccounted for and presumed deceased.”
Campgrounds, however, can help fuel western North Carolina’s economic recovery, Moore said.
“Our campground is an integral part of the financial well-being of Swannanoa as we direct guests and visitors to shop locally,” she said. “We are hoping people come to the Asheville and Franklin areas as well as the rest of western North Carolina, as the tourism dollars are desperately needed for those areas to rebuild.”
While Swannanoa suffered particularly high levels of destruction as a result of Helene, other communities fared better, including Franklin.a
“The town and surrounding areas rebounded quickly, but still need to recoup the lost revenue from the busiest time of the year for western North Carolina,” she said.
The Great Outdoors RV Resort also fared better.
“They experienced power outages, communication issues, land movement, and electrical issues with HVAC and other equipment. (But all repairs are complete and the park is now fully operational,” Moore said.
Some parks near the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Helene were able to make repairs and clean up relatively quickly, including Emberglow Outdoor Resort in Mill Spring.
“The entire town of Chimney Rock got washed into Lake Lure,” said Emberglow park owner Tim Murphy, noting that Chimney Rock is only 15 minutes from his park.
“We actually fared pretty well, considering,” he said. “We ended up being closed for about 10 days with no power and no access. The whole area was a complete mess. Damage-wise, we didn’t have any major units destroyed, but we had a lot of minor damage, with trees falling and damage to roofs. We had a river that formed out of the woods that filled our pool with mud and bushes, and mulch. We had to drain the entire pool, shovel it, and pressure wash it. Our foot bridges were washed away, but we found them and put them back.”
Murphy said Helene toppled about 150 trees on his 74-acre property. It did take time to clear his park’s trails. He said Emberglow received a $4,000 grant from OHI, which it received quickly after the storm.
“As soon as we received it, we used it to help us with our tree work,” he said. “It paid for about two and a half days of tree crews who helped us get trees off units or to remove trees that were hanging dangerously.”
Emberglow also had to do quite a bit of work to remove trees that were blocking the park’s hiking trails.
“The trails are clear in our park now,” Murphy said. “We just had a trail day in which we invited guests to come stay, and they helped us get our trails back in shape. We did have to re-route some trail sections (due to fallen trees).”
Murphy said Emberglow lost about $100,000 through repairs and disruption caused by Helene. Fortunately, he said, most of the people who had paid for reservations last fall were willing to reschedule their stays rather than demand immediate refunds. He rescheduled about $50,000 in overnight stays, but had to refund about $16,000 in reservations.
“I’m still waiting on my SBA crisis loan to pay ourselves back,” he said.
While some key attractions — such as Chimney Rock State Park, Mount Mitchell State Park, and certain sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway — remain closed, many other western North Carolina attractions are open for business, including the historic Biltmore estate and the Western North Carolina Nature Center, both of which are in Asheville. Asheville’s River Arts District has also reopened, along with many stores and restaurants.
“The damage to the area now is people’s perceptions of the area,” Murphy said. “Our message is that you can still come up and have a great week and have plenty of things to do.”
