Despite Tropical Storm Helene’s severe flooding, the French Broad River is in good condition, with river outfitters like Asheville Adventure Co. and Zen Tubing reopening for rafting, kayaking, and tubing—though activity will be reduced, especially in the northern sections near Asheville due to debris and caution among visitors. Cleanup efforts by the Army Corps of Engineers have significantly improved river safety, yet some tributaries like the Swannanoa still show storm damage. The river faces ongoing challenges, including debris, E. coli contamination, and park restoration costs estimated at $25 million with a multi-year timeline. Local groups seek additional funding to expand cleanup and enhance safety.
While you might not be wowed by the frequent flotillas of brightly colored tubes drifting down the French Broad River this summer, the river will be plenty busy with recreational users.
Tropical Storm Helene’s raging flood waters did a number on the river, and particularly on its main tributary, the Swannanoa River, but the waterway is in surprisingly good condition as river outfitters prepare to begin their seasons this weekend.
Devin deHoll, co-founder of Asheville Adventure Co., said the river is “looking really good” and that they plan to use several sections of it this season, particularly the rapids north of Asheville known as Section 9. That section runs roughly from near Marshall to Hot Springs, both towns in Madison County. The company has been running kayak and raft trips but will add tubing this weekend.
“We’ve been really impressed by all the efforts the Army Corps of Engineers did, and all the cleanup that happened along the river and in the river,” deHoll said. “So we’re using all of our sections as usual, and we’re open now for rafting, tubing and kayaking.”
Zen Tubing, the largest tubing outfitter on the French Broad River, says it is ready to open for business on Friday, May 16. The company’s tubes that were stored in a storage unit were flooded and muddied, but the outfitter was able to clean them and have them ready for opening. Zen has also ordered 900 new tubes. // Photo provided by Zen Tubing.
Aubrey Anderson, owner of Zen Tubing, the area’s largest tubing outfitter and the one responsible for many of the flotillas of meandering tubers, said they open Friday and feel optimistic about the season. They are making a concession to Helene, she said, and just operating on the southern part of the French Broad, from about the Glenn Bridge River Park to their main location at Brevard Road.
“(In a normal year), we do about 20,000 (guests) in the River Arts District and 20,000 at our south location,” Anderson said. “So we typically see 40,000 guests in the summer.”
That will be cut in half this summer, as Anderson said they won’t be sending tubers down the section of the French Broad that runs through the River Arts District. After Helene and the damage it wrought, including sweeping homes, cars, propane tanks and other materials downriver, potential tubers are “being cautious,” she said.
Zen Tubing in the River Arts District was swamped by the flooding last September. // Watchdog photo by Victoria A. Ifatusin
“I think the numbers are kind of down for river recreation in general in this area, because people do know there was a hurricane, it impacted this area tremendously,” Anderson said. “And I think people are being cautious. And I don’t blame them for being cautious.”
But she said once they explain the situation — and that they are open — bookings ensue.
“It’s just educating people as to what areas are a little safer, and how to do this without being at risk, but always with the caveat that this is something you need to make sure that you’re comfortable doing and that you’re cautious with doing it,” Anderson said. “Because with any natural river, whether we’ve had a tropical storm or we’re flooding or not, there’s an element of risk, and we don’t know everything you know that’s out there.”
So far, though, they’ve had customers returning, and Anderson said that’s encouraging.
10 days and 146 miles on the river
Hartwell Carson, clean waters director at the Asheville-based environmental nonprofit MountainTrue, recently completed a 10-day paddling trip on the French Broad, from the headwaters in Transylvania County all the way to Douglas Lake in Tennessee, 146 miles in total. The river is one of the few in the world that runs south to north, and in North Carolina it passes through Transylvania, Henderson, Buncombe and Madison counties before reaching Tennessee.
Hartwell Carson, clean waters director at the Asheville-based environmental nonprofit MountainTrue, along with his wife, Teela Waggoner, foreground, recently paddled for 10 days on the French Broad River. They found most of the river is in surprisingly good shape. // Photo provided by Hartwell Carson.
“I was very pleased at the shape of the river, particularly when you saw what it looked like after the storm,” Carson said. “My first reaction after the storm (was), “It’ll take 100 years to clean this up.’ And then to get out there and see it looking as good as it did was super encouraging.”
The river drains the French Broad River Valley, and Carson said the sections in Transylvania, Henderson and southern Buncombe were refreshingly clean, mainly because there’s less development in those areas.
“There’s stretches of river that certainly need work, and there’s stretches that really don’t need any work, which was also very surprising,” Carson said. “From the headwaters in Rosman to almost to the Swannanoa (at its junction with the French Broad), it looks great. There were stretches of the river where we were like, ‘You can’t even tell anything ever happened, particularly in Transylvania and Henderson (counties) — they didn’t get hit as hard as we got, so that makes sense. But they’ve also done some cleanup.”
He praised the Army Corps not only for storm cleanup but also for cleaning up longstanding debris jams at several bridges.
Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson Bobby Petty said Wednesday that the Corps “continues to sprint to the June 1 target for waterway debris removal.” Petty did not have specific debris removal statistics for the French Broad River.
A barge crew removes Helene debris from the French Broad River at Hominy Creek River Park in this April 18 photo. The Army Corps of Engineers hired contractors for this project. // Photo by Bobby Petty, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“But as of Monday within Asheville city limits, 284,000 cubic yards of waterway debris from 134 sites has been cleared of the total estimated 484,000 cubic yards from 260 waterway debris sites,” Petty said via email.
Petty noted that the Corps is working in 16 counties in western North Carolina. Of 3,929 sites, the Corps has cleared roughly 40 percent of them as of Wednesday.
“Of the nearly 2,200 western North Carolina sites remaining, we feel reasonably confident we’ll clear about 50 percent of those sites in the next two weeks,” Petty said.
Petty noted that the Corps hires contractors to do the work, and in some cases counties and cities hire their own.
“Counties and cities — such as Buncombe County and Asheville — may utilize their own county/city workforce for some of their cleanup, or opt to contract out some of their debris management and/or labor via their own contracting process,” Petty said.
The Corps cleared the French Broad Electric site in Madison County along the French Broad.
“Along the French Broad River in Asheville — between the University of North Carolina Asheville to Hominy Creek River Park — the Army Corps of Engineers has been working to clear about 47 waterway debris sites since beginning work in Buncombe County on Feb. 1,” Petty said. “Of those 47 sites, all but six sites north of the I-26/240 bridge have been cleared.”
Anna Gurney, a spokesperson for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, said the agency “doesn’t have any particular warning for recreationalists.”
“Fortunately, most of the French Broad River did not have the level of damage nor debris as its tributaries and other parts of western North Carolina,” Gurney said via email.
She did say the commission’s law enforcement division reminds people to wear a life vest and “be cautious of any possible debris from the storm or otherwise.”
‘And then it changes…’
Where the Swannanoa River joins the French Broad near the Biltmore Estate, storm damage remains very evident. The Swannanoa drains the Swannanoa Valley east of Asheville out to Black Mountain, and then runs east Asheville, Biltmore Village and the Biltmore Estate.
A pickup truck was still partially submerged in the Swannanoa River nearly five months after Tropical Storm Helene. // Watchdog photo by Starr Sariego
At its confluence with the French Broad near the Amboy Road Bridge, “then it changes,” Carson said. “If you get into the Swannanoa (confluence near the RAD), that’s sort of the point where you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, clearly there was a storm here.’”
Downstream of Asheville, to the north, Carson said, “There’s still a lot of work to do, for sure,” mostly trash cleanup and some debris. But it’s still “come an amazingly long way since post-storm to now. “
“We were able to paddle through everything, no problem — not dangerous,” Carson said. “There’s nothing scary, kind of blocking your route, or anything like that. But there’s certainly places along the way where you’re like, ‘Oh, there’s obviously trash from the storm, or there’s some bank erosion from the storm.’”
This sign on the French Broad River near Pearson Road Bridge warns of an upcoming construction project. While substantially cleaner than in the weeks after Helene struck the area Sept. 27, the French Broad River still contains debris in places, including this bridge pylon. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle.
Carson, Hunt and others interviewed for this story mentioned that the French Broad is much cleaner than in decades past, but even before Helene it still was known for discarded tires, empty water bottles and other detritus.
The French Broad is also notorious for high levels of e. Coli, “a group of bacteria that can cause infections in your gut, urinary tract and other parts of your body,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. “Most of the time, it can live in your gut without hurting you. But some strains can make you sick with watery diarrhea, vomiting and a fever.”
As Mountain Xpress reported in the summer of 2023, “A new report by conservation nonprofit MountainTrue finds that E. coli concentrations in the French Broad River near Asheville regularly exceed eight times the standard considered safe for swimming by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.”
Zen Tubing in a typical year sends about 40,000 tubers down the French Broad, a number that will be cut about in half this year. The company will use only the southern section of the French Broad this summer, as it sustained less damage than the northern section through Asheville. // Photo provided by Zen Tubing.
For years, experts have said the river is safe to tube, paddle or swim, as long as you do not have open cuts or sores.
Carson said this week MountainTrue will “start sampling for E. coli next week, so nothing new to report.”
Restoring parks to cost $25 million, take years
Complicating some recreation efforts along the river is the state of city and county parks. On April 24, the City of Asheville issued a press release stating it has posted a “Request for Qualifications” for design services to rebuild damaged parks along the river.
Helene caused at least $25 million in damage to the city’s river parks, which include French Broad Broad River Park, Carrier Park, Amboy Riverfront Park, Jean Webb Park and the Wilma Dykeman and French Broad River greenways, among others. The release notes the city plans to bring a design team on board this fall, with the design and public engagement process expected to take two years, followed by two to three years of construction.
That’s a total possible timeline of five years, although the city said it will use a phased approach and “public access will be maximized throughout the duration of the project, allowing as many amenities as possible to be open for public use.”
In Buncombe County, spokesperson Johanna Cano said Tuesday that Corcoran Paige River Park is open, and Hominy Creek River Park is partially open with the peninsula closed. Information on parks is available on the county’s park page.
“There are currently no timelines for when the other river parks will be open, due to them being ‘Temporary Offload Staging’ sites for storm debris,” Cano said. “That mission is set to be completed by the end of June at this time, but locations will require some remediation.”
A concrete slab that once served as a base for local artwork in the River Arts District remained in the French Broad’s river bank until local artist Sean Pace pulled it out Tuesday. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle.
On Tuesday afternoon, local artist Sean Pace, who also operates a grading company, was using a track hoe to pull out a 16-foot welded steel sculpture he made out of the French Broad River Bank under the Capt. Jeff Bowen Bridge. It used to be mounted about 20 yards upstream, but Helene broke it off its base.
Pace calls the work, a bird with a cannon for a nose, “The EPA,” because “we don’t take care of our environment, so I was just making animals that could take care of their own environment.”
A former raft guide on the river, Pace said he’s observed the river from multiple vantage points since the storm, and watched the cleanup with interest. It does look way better now than last fall, he said, but the stretch through Asheville and to the north still has some dangers.
Local metal artist Sean Pace, who also operates a grading business, removed his 16-foot-long welded steel piece called “The EPA” from the French Broad River’s riverbank near the Capt. Jeff Bowen bridge in the River Arts District. Pace said Helene knocked the artwork off its base and moved it about 20 yards downstream. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle.
“There’s lots of like broken pieces of metal, scrap parts of cars that have gotten stuck,” Pace said. “You can’t imagine how much glass is in there, because it just gets rolled and rolled and rolled and makes smaller pieces. Obviously, there’s still a bunch of plastic in there.”
But that glass is the “number one pollutant” he worries about for river users. He recommends users wear closed-toe shoes, a recommendation Carson also advocated.
River advocate Marc Hunt, a former Asheville City Council member who is also a volunteer consultant on Woodfin’s ongoing kayaking wave project, said the river now “is generally cleaner” than it was before Helene.
“For the sections down through Asheville, my take is it’s just fine,” Hunt said. “When you get into Woodfin, there are still some pipes from IPEX that are stuck in the stream, in the riverbed, and I do have concerns that those might provide some safety risks — people getting snagged on one of those pipes.”
Silverline Plastics, owned by IPEX, manufactures plastic PVC pipe in a facility on the river that flooded badly in the storm, sending thousands of pipes downriver. The company launched a cleanup campaign last fall, but Hunt said work appears to have stalled.
IPEX spokesperson Anastasia Georgakakos said in early April, “We remain committed to actively securing and collecting any pipes and materials that washed off-property. This effort is ongoing and restoring the surrounding community remains a priority for us.”
Beyond the plastic piping, Hunt said it’s hard to know right now what might be buried in the riverbed or sunk in the banks. In the months after the storm, the river had a lighter color, and when the water was low it looked cleaner, he said, probably the effect of “scouring” from the storm.
Extensive cleanup of the French Broad has occurred in recent months, along with bank repairs evident in this photo of the river in the Woodfin area. // Photo provided by Marc Hunt.
“The strong current would have swept a lot of things downstream,” Hunt said. “You get river flow that’s that powerful, and it just tumbles everything it can along the bottom of the river, and it goes to Tennessee, too. So if we’re lucky, that will be the case — we’ll find a lot of the junk is scoured away, too.”
But right now, the French Broad is fairly high, and a little murky from clay and mud deposits from recents rainfall.
“Time will tell in terms of what might be left behind,” Hunt said. “And I think it’s going to require some low water, which again, typically happens later in the summer.”
More cleanup help may be on the way
Meanwhile, Carson said crews continue river cleanups, which include 12-person cleanup crews working in Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania counties. Additionally, MountainTrue has a crew of four or five on the ground on the Green River in Polk County, he said.
“And then we’re hoping to get some state money, potentially millions of dollars, and ramp those crews up to maybe 150-plus people,” Carson said. “And throughout the whole watershed — Chimney Rock, Spruce Pine, Hot Springs, Asheville, Swannanoa. That bit of work that’s left to do, we’re certainly planning to address those issues (such as buried debris).”
Carson said that after Helene the state legislature passed “The Disaster Recovery Act of 2025,” which includes a provision that authorizes the North Carolina Office of State Budget Management to distribute $20 million “to state agencies and units of local government for debris and sedimentation removal unmet needs.”
The state’s Emergency Management office will assist Budget Management in “in coordinating the debris removal with relevant state agencies and local stakeholders,” the legislation states. “OSBM shall prioritize using these funds to address identified gaps in debris cleanup not met by other federal and state programs,” the bill states.
Carson feels MountainTrue is well-positioned to do the work.
“We’re making a case that we’ve been doing it, and we can do a lot more with more,” Carson said. “And I think we’re going to be successful. We’re putting folks that are out of work to work cleaning up our rivers, so we can save our rivers, but also save our outdoor economy. So, it’s a pretty good story, and kind of a win-win for everybody.”
Marcia Evans, communications director with the Office of State Budget and Management, said the process is ongoing.
“At this point, no funds have been disbursed, but we are nearing agreements with several agencies on their debris removal plans,” Evans said via email. “In some cases, these agencies will be contracting with other entities for the clean-up. While various organizations may be contracted to conduct some of the work, the contract would be with the agency receiving funds, not with OSBM.”
Under the legislation, the state has to “prioritize debris removal efforts that are not funded by other state or federal programs.
“We also need a Memorandum of Understanding in place that governs the funds disbursed and what work will be completed,” Evans said.
If MountainTrue can secure the funding, Carson said it would likely be a 12-month contract.
“I’d like to think in the first half of that, we’ll have a big chunk of it done,” Carson said. “We’ll focus on the sections that people recreate in first, and then we’ll spread out to the less-used sections. So I’d like to think that in that first part of that year, we would do all those popular sections where people tube and paddle.”
Asheville Watchdog welcomes thoughtful reader comments on this story, which has been republished on our Facebook page. Please submit your comments there.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. John Boyle has been covering Asheville and surrounding communities since the 20th century. You can reach him at (828) 337-0941, or via email at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s local reporting during this crisis is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The content is primarily focused on local river recreation and environmental recovery efforts, with an emphasis on the cleanup and condition of the French Broad River post-Tropical Storm Helene. It reports various viewpoints from local businesses, environmental advocates, and government agencies without promoting any specific political ideology. The tone is factual and community-oriented, highlighting collaboration between local entities like MountainTrue and the Army Corps of Engineers. While it discusses public funding and legislative measures, the language remains neutral, offering no overt political commentary or advocacy, making the reporting centrist in nature.
When will Helene-damaged Broadmoor Golf Course be ready for play? FernLeaf Charter School back in business in previously flooded location? • Asheville Watchdog
The Broadmoor Golf Course near Asheville Regional Airport, owned by the airport and leased to DreamCatcher Hotels, suffered over $10 million in flood damage from Tropical Storm Helene. DreamCatcher is rebuilding the course, clubhouse, and maintenance buildings using insurance and company funds, aiming to reopen in spring 2026. Meanwhile, FernLeaf Community Charter School in Fletcher, flooded by Helene, reopened its elementary Creek Campus after nearly a year with new modular buildings. Despite challenges, including ongoing construction and flooding risks, the school rebuilt on its original site with community support and flood insurance, celebrating resilience and continued education.
Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:
Question: The Broadmoor Golf Course near the airport suffered catastrophic damage during the floods of Helene. Only the driving range has been able to operate. But now there is great activity that looks like the course is being rebuilt. I think the property belongs to the airport, and it is contracted out for management. Who is paying for this work, and when might the course be ready again for play?
My answer: I do miss playing this course, mainly because it’s not often I get a chance to hit a wayward shot onto an interstate, in this case I-26. Usually my drives are confined to the woods or a simple two-lane road.
Real answer: In short, a lot is going on at Broadmoor, which is located off Airport Road about a mile from Asheville Regional. The airport does own the property, but it leases the golf course to a company, DreamCatcher Hotels, which operates the golf course and plans to build a hotel on the property.
Zeke Cooper, president and CEO of DreamCatcher, told me his company has a 50-year lease, and it is committed to site improvements.
“As always planned, we are developing a hotel on the property, which we plan to start site work on later this year,” Cooper said via email.
Tropical Storm Helene inundated the Broadmoor Golf Links course, causing over $10 million in damage. // Photo provided by DreamCatcher Hotels
Helene, which struck our area Sept. 27, inundated the golf course and clubhouse. The French Broad River is close by, and the property is, as the name implies, relatively flat.
“The golf course lost over 1,000 trees and had 12-18 inches of silt covering 60-70 percent of the course,” Cooper said. “The first step was to remove all of the tree debris and remove the silt.”
The company finished that in April, and golf course reconstruction started shortly thereafter.
“The clubhouse had two feet of water on the first floor, with the basement completely submerged,” Cooper said. “The maintenance and irrigation buildings were submerged, resulting in total losses of the buildings and all equipment within them. It was a mess!”
Fortunately, they did have flood insurance. Cooper said total damage exceeded $10 million.
“So a lot of the work is being paid for with insurance funds, as well as our own money,” Cooper said. “We do not have an opening date yet, but expect to reopen in spring of 2026.”
For the golfers out there, Cooper gave a detailed breakdown of all the work they’re doing:
On the golf course: Stripping all greens surfaces, adding in new greens mix and reseeding with bent grass. All greens are completed and currently growing in. The 11th green was completely destroyed, as well as some tee boxes. Those have been rebuilt and are growing in.
All of the fairways and tees have been stripped of silt, regraded and tilled. All of these areas are currently growing in with Bermuda grass.
All of the bunkers were stripped, regraded and rebuilt with new drainage and sand. Sod was used around every greens complex and all bunkers, with the work completed about a month ago.
Tropical Storm Helene left behind 12 to 18 inches of silt on the Broadmoor Golf Links course in the Fletcher area. Workers had it removed by April, and the company that operates the course is rebuilding. // Photo provided by DreamCatcher Hotels
The irrigation electrical system was destroyed, and has now been replaced. New irrigation pumps have been operational the last couple of months. Workers also had to clean out and replace drainage systems, along with lots of bank restabilization.
Driving range: “We were able to open the driving range in a temporary capacity while work was being undertaken on the course,” Cooper said. “We closed the range on Aug. 11, in order to fix damage from the flood. It is currently under construction and we hope to reopen it in the next three to four months. No timetable, yet, as it’s weather dependent this late in the season.”
Clubhouse, maintenance buildings: The company gutted, cleaned and rebuilt the clubhouse. “We are close to hopefully reopening the clubhouse and restaurant in the next two months,” Cooper said. “We are working on finalizing some construction items for a full Certificate of Occupancy, as well as waiting on furniture, fixtures and equipment.”
The maintenance and irrigation buildings are completed and in use, Cooper added.
Question: What is going on with the FernLeaf Community Charter School in Fletcher? I’ve seen they’re putting back in mobile classrooms in the area that flooded, and it looks like it’s close to reopening. I thought they moved all the students to their location further south that sits on top of a hill?
My answer: I suspect all of the new mobile classrooms are actually barges. Pretty ingenious, really.
Real answer: Back in April I wrote about FernLleaf, the flooding at its location off Howard Gap Road in Fletcher, and the school’s plans to rebuild. Helene’s floodwaters filled the buildings with up to six feet of water and swept some of them off their foundations, Nicole Rule, communications, marketing and events coordinator for the school, said then.
On Monday she had some happy news about FernLeaf’s “second act.”
FernLeaf Community Charter School, which sustained major damage at its “Creek Campus” elementary school location in Fletcher, has reopened with new modular buildings. // Photo by Nicole Rule of FernLeaf Charter School.
“On Aug. 13, FernLeaf Community Charter School in Fletcher reopened its Creek Campus — 321 days after Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic flooding swept our main buildings off their foundations and left the campus under several feet of water,” Rule said via email. “In that time, over 430 elementary students and their teachers relocated to our Wilderness Campus (previously home to middle and high schoolers), where they continued learning without missing a beat.”
Rule said, “Community partners, including general contractor Beverly Grant and even the Carolina Panthers Charities (with a $20,000 grant), rallied to help us rebuild.
“While one building is still under construction due to this summer’s unrelenting rain, the reopening marks a milestone for our students, families, and the broader Fletcher/Asheville community,” Rule said. That building should be ready by the end of September.
Michael Luplow, FernLeaf’s executive director, said the school’s “journey has been a powerful demonstration of what we can achieve when we come together.”
“We are immensely grateful for the unwavering support of our students, families, staff, and the broader community,” Luplow said in the press release. “The re-opening of the Creek Campus is not just about a new set of buildings; it is a celebration of our collective spirit and our enduring mission to provide an innovative, inspiring education to our students.”
By the way, FernLeaf did rebuild on the same footprint, which is close to Cane Creek. But this is all approved.
“Since Fern Leaf had previously been constructed in a manner that met our current elevation requirements, they are permitted to go back in at the same elevation,” Town of Fletcher Planning Director Eric Rufa told me in April. “I have encouraged them to go higher, but current circumstances with regard to grade and ADA requirements may hinder that.”
The school did have flood insurance.
Asheville Watchdog welcomes thoughtful reader comments on this story, which has been republished on our Facebook page. Please submit your comments there.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The content presents factual information about local community issues, such as flood damage and rebuilding efforts at a golf course and a charter school, without expressing partisan opinions or advocating for a particular political ideology. The tone is neutral and focused on reporting details relevant to the community, reflecting a balanced and nonpartisan approach.
SUMMARY: Brooke Johnson, 29, became the first woman to skateboard across the U.S., completing a nearly four-month, 3,000-mile journey from Santa Monica, California, to Virginia Beach. Motivated by a promise to her late stepfather, Roger, who suffered a spinal cord injury and encouraged her to skate across the country, Brooke fulfilled her goal while raising over $54,000 for spinal cord research. Despite emotional and physical challenges, she felt Roger’s support throughout. At the finish line, she wore a necklace containing his ashes, symbolizing their shared journey. Brooke plans to rest before deciding her next adventure. Donations continue via “Brooke Does Everything.”
Brooke Johnson traveled by skateboard from California to Virginia Beach over 118 days to raise over $50000 for spinal cord injury …
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-08-18 08:01:00
Hurricane Erin, which rapidly intensified from Category 1 to Category 5 over the weekend with winds near 160 mph, weakened slightly to Category 4 on Monday while remaining offshore. At 8 a.m., it was about 115 miles north-northeast of Grand Turk and 890 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, moving northwest at 13 mph. Dare County declared an emergency, ordering evacuations for Hatteras Island and the Outer Banks, where NC 12 is at risk of flooding and damage. While Erin is expected to miss U.S. landfall, North Carolina’s coast remains within its wind field amid ongoing recovery from Hurricane Helene.
(The Center Square) – Erin, once a Category 5 hurricane over the weekend that more than doubled wind speed to nearly 160 mph, on Monday morning remained on a path to miss landfall of the United States though not without forcing evacuations in North Carolina.
At 8 a.m., the Category 4 hurricane was just east of the southeastern Bahamas, the National Weather Center said, about 115 miles north-northeast of the Grand Turk Islands, and about 890 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras. Erin was moving northwest at 13 mph, forecast to be going north by Wednesday morning while parallel to the Florida panhandle.
Erin had 75 mph maximum winds Friday at 11 a.m., a Category 1, and 24 hours later was near 160 mph and Category 5. It has since gone to a Category 3 before gaining more intensity.
On the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, Category 1 is 74-95 mph, Category 2 is 96-110, Category 3 is major and 111-129 mph, Category 4 is 130-156 mph, and Category 5 is greater than 157 mph. While the most-often characterization of Atlantic basin cyclones, the scale is without context on storm surge – a key factor in damage at landfall.
Dare County on Sunday declared an emergency with evacuations ordered for Hatteras Island and the Outer Banks. N.C. 12, the famed 148-mile roadway linking peninsulas and islands of the Outer Banks, is likely to go under water and parts could wash away – as often happens with hurricanes.
NC12 begins at U.S. 70 at the community of Sea Level and runs to a point just north of Corolla and south of the Currituck Banks North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve. Two ferries, Hatteras Island to Ocracoke Island and Cedar Island to Ocracoke Island, are part of the route.
Nearly all of North Carolina’s 301-mile coastline is within the outer wind field projection from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center. The greatest speed, however, is 20 mph.
Erin’s rapid intensity is among the greatest on record, and particularly so for prior to Sept. 1. Hurricane force winds (74 mph) extend 60 miles from its center.
By midnight Thursday into Friday, the storm is expected to be past a point parallel to the Virginia-North Carolina border and gaining speed away from the coast.
The storm’s miss of the state is particularly welcome in light of Hurricane Helene. Recovery from that storm is in its 47th week. Helene killed 107 in the state, 236 across seven states in the South, and caused an estimated $60 billion in damage to North Carolina.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The content provided is a straightforward news report on Hurricane Erin, focusing on meteorological facts, evacuation orders, and recent hurricane impacts in North Carolina. It presents detailed information about the storm’s strength, projected path, and historical context without expressing any opinion or advocating for a particular political viewpoint. The language is neutral and factual, offering updates from official sources and avoiding ideological framing. Thus, it reports on the situation without contributing any discernible political bias or ideological stance.
