Running water returns to some areas of Asheville; some western NC students back in school

ABC11 got a look at the damage left behind in Bat Cave after Hurricane Helene.

The community is part of Henderson County, near Chimney Rock and Lake Lure.

Our crew rode along with the Bat Cave Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department.

Our crew rode along with the Bat Cave Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department.

You can see the mess left behind after mudslides. Homes were tossed around like toys.

"DOT needs a little more time to get these roads safer," Steve Freeman, who is with the department, said. "It's amazing the work they've done in a short amount of time."

Also, he said that some roads still need to be shored up to prevent people from running off the road and getting hurt.

Some good news is coming out of the mountains in the wake of Hurricane Helene as the region continues to slowly but steadily recover.

This positive development comes out of Virginia, where a long stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway has reopened.

Nearly 200 miles are back open in Virginia after Hurricane Helene.

The scenic byway was closed following the damage from Helene. It has officially reopened from milepost 0 to milepost 198 as of Friday. This restoration opens nearly 200 miles from Shenandoah National Park to Virginia Route 685.

Visitors can again experience the Parkway's iconic Virginia attractions, including the Peaks of Otter, Rocky Knob, and the historic Mabry Mill.

The hard-hit North Carolina stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway has not yet reopened.

Governor Cooper will continue his tour Friday of the affected communities in the North Carolina mountains.

He will visit two businesses in the morning in Pisgah Forest that sustained damage in the storm.

Cooper will then head to Henderson County to survey the damage and relief efforts as well as thank volunteers.

Governor Roy Cooper continues to visit North Carolina communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.

One of the two companies that manufacture high-purity quartz used for making semiconductors and other high-tech products from mines in a western North Carolina community severely damaged by Hurricane Helene is operating again.

Sibelco announced on Thursday that production has restarted at its mining and processing operations in Spruce Pine, located 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Asheville. Production and shipments are progressively ramping up to full capacity, the company said in a news release.

"While the road to full recovery for our communities will be long, restarting our operations and resuming shipments to customers are important contributors to rebuilding the local economy," Sibelco CEO Hilmar Rode said.

Sibelco and The Quartz Corp. shut down operations ahead of the arrival of Helene, which devastated Spruce Pine and surrounding Mitchell County. Following the storm, both companies said that all of their employees were accounted for and safe.

The Quartz Corp. had said last week that it was too early to know when it would resume operations, adding it would depend on the rebuilding of local infrastructure.

Spruce Pine quartz is used around the world to manufacture the equipment needed to make silicon chips. An estimated 70% to 90% of the crucibles used worldwide in which polysilicon used for the chips is melted down are made from Spruce Pine quartz, according to Vince Beiser, the author of "The World in a Grain."

The high-tech quartz is also used in manufacturing solar panels and fiber-optic cables.

A Spruce Pine council member said recently that an estimated three-quarters of the town has a direct connection to the mines, whether through a job, a job that relies on the mines or a family member who works at the facilities.