6 weeks after Hurricane Helene, Western North Carolina community slowly rebuild, reopen

SWANNANOA, N.C. — Six weeks after Hurricane Helene blasted across the southeast life is still far from normal for many people.

One community struggling to recover is Swannanoa, North Carolina, just east of Asheville. Raging floodwaters wiped away homes and businesses.

Channel 2′s Bryan Mims went to Swannanoa on Thursday to see the progress that is being made in the community and he found that it is slow, but it’s happening.

The ground that Mike Stewart walks on is fresh gravel. It blankets what had been foul dust from dried mud. Water had turned so much in this town to dust.

“You just felt the sense of loss. Loss of belongings, loss of homes, loss of life. You felt it,” Steward said.

So he poured gravel in the parking lot of the business he owns, Pine View Buildings. He sells storage sheds.

When the Swannanoa River swept over its banks with a vengeance, he lost dozens of buildings.

He lost his office. He almost lost his will to stay in business.

“You were about to walk away from it all,” Mims asked Stewart.

Yeah, I was about to walk away. It was just so discouraging,” Stewart said.

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But he could not give up.

“It wasn’t about me, it wasn’t about my loss. It was about how do we bring a little bit of a bright spot into a dark area,” Stewart said.

He’s reopened. He has a temporary office. He’s replaced many of his storage buildings.

And he’s opened one section of his property to people living in campers -- people who lost their homes.

Across Highway 70, Brian Berpeau has yet to open his truck repair shop called Diamondback 4-by-4.

“Every day, we keep coming down and just do what we can to keep chipping away at the iceberg,” Berpeau said.

Five feet of water drowned his garage. About $250,000 in tools and equipment gone.

He knows he’s a fortunate one. Other businesses in town might never rise from the dust, but he expects to reopen in a couple of weeks.

“I don’t know, I still have doubts now sometimes. Just staying optimistic and staying positive,” Berpeau said.

Several businesses along the Swannanoa River were destroyed or heavily damaged.

Volunteers from across the country have swarmed into Swannanoa to help clean up and rebuild.

They have been a godsend to people who lost their homes and everything they had.

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