From Staff Reports 

CHIMNEY ROCK VILLAGE — While most of this haven for tourists may be gone, having been swept away by flooding from Tropical Storm Helene, “the spirit to rebuild is not,” Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) reported on Oct. 4.

The adjoining Town of Lake Lure (to  the west of Chimney Rock Village) took a massive hit, as did Bat Cave, which flanks the village to the east.

Meanwhile, citing what it termed “a clear message” from Chimney Rock Village (population 140)  “one week after the storm,” the TV station said local leaders here are adamant in their plans to rebuild the village.

“This is the worst we’ve ever seen, but we will get through it, and the support of the community is just awesome,” contractor Dale Sheilds was quoted as saying by News 13.

“Shields is from the area and is already working tirelessly to bring back what was lost,” the TV station noted, adding that he asserted the following:

“The whole town is not gone. We’ve still got the road. Yes, a lot will have to come, but we will do it; a lot will have to be rebuilt.

“We’re coming back. We’ve got good crews here working their tails off here. We’ve got food, we’ve got water, we’ve got troopers helping us. We’re coming back.”

In the Chimney Rock Village-Lake Lure area, emergency officials confirmed to News 13 that 71 welfare checks are happening now, with word that 800 people are safe. We’re told 200 people have evacuated from the area.

Now, local leaders say they’re focusing on rebuilding while also working to clear up false information circulating online.

“The main rumor we want to dispel is that there is no government seizure of Chimney Rock,” Rutherford Emergency Public Information Officer Kerry Giles told News 13.

Giles said that there have been three confirmed fatalities.

“We do not have bodies washed up on shores or floating down the river,” she said. “We are working through the wreckage. If we get any others, we will report them, but we do not have the massive fatalities being reported.”

The first part of the cleanup is removing the hazards that washed in.

“The main effort right now is getting roads cleared, and next step will be removal of debris that is in the lake and congested right around Town Hall,” Giles told the TV station.

Chimney Rock Village Mayor Peter O’Leary told News 13 that his main goal is to get businesses and home owners back as soon as it’s safe.

“I’ve been told that three crews are working on three highways, and they are all going to connect in Bat Cave, so that should ease people’s minds on highways and takeovers and all that,” O’Leary said.

He is telling the public to trust official updates and not social media rumors, News 13 noted.

Meanwhile, in a recent update, Wikipedia reported the following:

“On September 27, 2024, the majority of Chimney Rock was substantially damaged or destroyed by flooding caused by Hurricane Helene, with the Broad River inundating the village.

“The flooding also heavily damaged the adjoining town of Lake Lure.

“Following the flooding, disinformation emerged that the federal government had seized the village by way of eminent domain and planned to demolish the village circulated online on platforms such as TikTok and Facebook. 

“These claims were debunked by officials of the village and Rutherford County Emergency Management.”