I know some of you are fond of the Blue Ridge Parkway and may be planning a trip to see the fall foliage.
Some mountain communities received 15 inches of rain in 24 hours courtesy of hurricane Frances causing landslides and broken pavement along the Parkway.
Park Service
from Tuesday's ed. of the Winston-Salem Journal
Water and mudslides from Hurricane Frances caused at least $11 million in damage to the Blue Ridge Parkway and could take up to a year to fix, officials with the National Park Service said yesterday.

Most of the damage occurred along a 40-mile section of the parkway from Linville Falls to near Mount Mitchell State Park, said Phil Noblitt, a park-service spokesman.

The Blue Ridge Parkway stretches for 469 miles through Virginia and North Carolina.

The parkway's Linville Falls Recreation Area will be closed for the rest of this year and could stay closed through most of next season to repair damage to its small visitor center and its water, sewer-treatment and trail system caused by the rain-swollen Linville River.

According to rain-gauge information used by the National Weather Service, Frances dumped more than 15 inches of rain last Tuesday and Wednesday on the area near Linville Falls.

The surge from the Linville River, which flows through the park area, was so strong that it bent the metal pipe railings along a concrete walkway near the area's visitor center.
Park officials aren't sure how long it will take to fix the damage at Linville Falls, Noblitt said. Rather than repairing the visitor center, officials are debating whether to build a new one on higher ground where future flood damage is less likely.

The heavy rains also caused major problems on the road itself from south of Linville Falls to near Mount Mitchell.

Surging runoff washed out the road in at least four spots and cracked the pavement in one place. Much of the damage occurred between mileposts 345 and 351, a stretch between N.C. 80 and N.C. 128, the highway that leads from the parkway to Mount Mitchell State Park.

Noblitt said that officials with the Federal Highway Administration are expected to begin surveying the damage today. (Wednesday Sept. 15)

 

I was up in Mitchell County last week because of the storms doing swiftwater rescue. We're going back tomorrow. For those of you who are planning a road trip down I40, I would suggest changing your route.

 

Hey Jack,
Was there an actual rescue? I hear there was a lot of water over there. Which river were you on? Shouldn't have been any shortage of boulders to anchor too!

 

I was in Spuce Pine - Mitchell and Avery County. I don't remember the name of the river up there. There were over 300 rescues across the western part of the state on the last one, and this one is bigger, so imagine how bad it'll be if that storm stalls.

 

Maybe this time they won't take the warnings so lightly. Keep us posted.

 

Jack you may have been on the Toe River wich is a main river here or the South toe.I live on the Mitchlle-Yancey line and loss the road leading out of my property plus had a 5 acrea wide river through the bottem area.House was fine as well as the wolf pens.If you ever need a place to stay let me know got plenty of room here for you and your family.Those wanting a back way to the Crabtree falls and like hiking let me know as well.Thanks for the info Nastayl must have missed that one.

 

Thanks guys. I appreciate it. I found out that we're leaving at 6am tomorrow. We're going to stage in Hickory this time. I'm not sure where we'll go from there. I hope you guys are okay. I'll give you guys an update when I get back.

 

So Jack, I'm still waiting on a report. I know first hand lots of creeks were out of their banks and at least one earthen dam had damage. Did your team perform any rescues?
Nat

 

Is the section that goes by the Pisgah Inn closed?

 

Which hiway is it on DieselDude? Or are you speaking of the parkway? Do you have the mile post?
Nat

 

I just got back from Ivan. I was in Macon County and Madison County this time. It was pretty bad. I don't know the whole death toll numbers yet, but I can tell you that teams weren't able to save all of the people that got into trouble. I have no clue what the numbers are for total rescues and total losses. I hear that a total of 8 have been killed. The French Broad was an angry river this weekend.

 

Sounds like you had a tough time of it Jack. I know how hard you guys try, but you just can't save everybody.

Thanks for your efforts, I know a lot of people are very grateful for your assistance.

 

Thanks for the updates Jack. Will you ever hear how many rescues there were? Are there magazine or news articles of all you guys do?
Nat

 

we'll have some articles come up about the team im sure. I don't know when, but some of it's on wral and some on the newspaper. I just got back so I don't know where all the articles are yet.

 

I remember somewhere around mile 428 or so on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's in the 828 area code.