Chimney Rock, North Carolina, aims to reopen in the midsummer after Helen

Holiday towns Chimney Rock, North Carolina The town’s mayor, Peter O’Leary, is unrecognizable after Hurricane Helen left a row of destruction in the southeast in September.

“It destroyed the village,” O’Leary said. “It took away the old chimney lock.”

Thousands of visitors visited the mountain town on a typical summer day, but the damage left by Helen blocked the chimney lock for everyone except the residents.

“There’s a meeting FEMA Inspector Here we are inspecting the damage so that some of the FEMA projects can be moved forward,” O’Leary said.

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The mayor said a task force consisting of business owners and residents was created to oversee plans for the new chimney lock.

meanwhile Helen changed town Forever, O’Leary said the reconstruction process is ongoing, with the goal of returning to the midsummer and welcoming tourists.

Residents like Lidya Gongage said there is a long road to recovery.

“In a few months, it’s still just as bad,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a two-year recovery. And it’s never the same.”

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Contractors are working to install new streams of water, sewer services and electricity lines throughout the town, but the Department of Transport is rebuilding the area bridge as Helene wiped them all out.

O’Leary said more than 2,000 volunteers, including people with heavy equipment, have come to the area to speed up recovery efforts.

One of those volunteers is Jake Jarvis, owner of Precision Grading, who specializes in road construction and house sites removal.

Jarvis said he worked a lot on the walls of the boulder because of many of the houses he had. Was washed away by the storm.

“We’re trying our best to return what we’ve lost to people. If we can’t give them (a) we can give them a place to build a house,” Jarvis said.

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Jarvis said that the work being done to rebuild is being encouraged by donations and he could afford the necessary materials.