A local official told Fox News Digital that the mountain village where “The Last of the Mohicans” and “Dirty Dancing” were shot is no longer there because Hurricane Helene did so much damage.
Chimney Rock is a small town in North Carolina. It is at the base of Chimney Rock State Park and has the beautiful Lake Lure. Ed Broyhill, a member of the North Carolina GOP national committee and owner of a home on the lake, said that the storm damage has badly hurt the town.
“The worst thing about the world is that a lot of people make a living by catering to tourists…” All of their hotels, motels, restaurants, nice shops, souvenir shops, and clothes stores were washed away. “It all got washed into the lake,” he said.
Many people still don’t have power, and roads are washed out. Broyhill thinks it will take “at least a year” to repair.
He said it was the “worst weather event that’s ever occurred in western North Carolina.”
Broyhill remembered seeing National Guard planes take people out of the area on Sunday. When he looked around the area, he saw that whole parts of road were missing. He said, “It’s crazy.”
As the autumn leaf season approaches, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has asked people to stay away from western North Carolina unless they have to.
“The safety and well-being of everyone is our top priority,” Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins said in a statement. “People should still think of the roads in western North Carolina as closed and not go anywhere unless they have to.”
There needs to be priority for all the people who are working hard to help with the long response and recovery process, like first responders, utility and transportation workers, and others.