While Chimney Rock State Park is set to open by the end of June, recovery in Lake Lure is still going to take time.
Heavy machinery has been working daily in the town for months, which is not usually what people see around the lake during June.
“Right now, you’d see people on the beach, on boats and just having a great time,” said Dan Freitag, who frequently visits Lake Lure from Florida. “It’s not what it used to be.”
“This used to be so beautiful,” said Brian Lewis, who has spent nearly 30 years visiting the lake. “It was a hidden secret. People really cherished this place.”
The lake still has more visible soil than water, and it is going to be like that for the foreseeable future. However, nearly nine months ago, things were a lot worse.
“You could barely get in here,” Freitag said, describing his trip to the lake shortly after Helene. “It was devastating. You had to go up, come back, come around, come back again and it was just horrific. Trees were down, roads were all torn up, bridges were taken out. It looked like a war zone.”
Now, he’s seeing a difference.
“It’s a lot better, but it still has a lot of room to grow,” Freitag continued. “It was amazing how the crew was just banging things out and getting things out of the way.”
The town of Lake Lure released its latest recovery numbers this past Friday: 314,000 tons of silt and sediment has been removed, 42,301 cubic yards of debris have been removed from the waterway, and 43,567 cubic yards of debris from the right of way.
“We’re amazed that they’re cleaning this up this well,” Lewis said. “I’m surprised. We’re glad they’re here doing the work, but we’re still in shock.”Lewis didn’t know what to expect to see on Sunday. It was his first day back at the lake since Helene hit.
“I’m pleased,” he said. “Somebody’s definitely putting the gas and pressure on. You’ll see a lot things get devastated and nothing gets done about it. Here, you can see they’re doing stuff.”
The work continuing daily gives Lewis, and many others, optimism about seeing Lake Lure get back to normal one day.
“It’s an easier pill to swallow,” Lewis said. “We’ll keep coming back until it’s done because we love it that much.”
It also gives Freitag hope about what’s next for him.
“My main purpose was to come up here, help rebuild the community and retire up here,” he said. “That’s my ultimate goal. This community has a lot of backbone to it. It’s got a lot of growth.”
STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOS'We're amazed': Lake Lure sees significant debris removal, but recovery efforts continue