People in WNC hopeful as crews work to restore water, remove debris: 'Life is going to get better'

LAKE LURE, N.C. (WTVD) -- The work being done in the town of Lake Lure is constant and can be heard for miles. Judy Craze gets a front-row seat to it every day from inside her lakefront home.

"They're working seven days a week," she said. "Some mornings have been very cold. They are out there early in the morning and I'm like whew, I'm glad I'm in here drinking my coffee and not on one of those barges."

Craze lives in Georgia, but her family has been vacationing at Lake Lure for the past 30 years. The water's beauty has always been a big draw.

"The grandchildren were saying I don't think we're going to be jumping into the lake this year," she said.

Hurricane Helene ravaged parts of western North Carolina. Much of the debris from homes and businesses in Chimney Rock went downstream to Lake Lure. Two months later the work to remove the debris is ongoing. ABC11 was invited by FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to witness the ongoing work.

"So right now we're at about 5,000 dump trucks of debris removed to date," said Colonel Brad Morgan with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "We've got kayaks, logs, trees, construction debris. which could be from someone's home that's no longer standing."

Dump trucks take the debris to a temporary site down the road where a chipper works to turn it into mulch. The American flag flies proudly over the site.

"It just speaks to the volunteerism and patriotism of a lot of the team that's here. It is who we are, what we do and we're proud to do it," said Morgan.

About forty-five minutes away in Black Mountain another mission is underway. FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Asheville have been working to clarify water at the Burnett Reservoir. It provides drinking water to Asheville.

"I've been told the water was so clear you could see down 20 to 30 feet," said Morgan.

SEE ALSO | 2 months after Helene, Western North Carolina survivors move into temporary housing

Asheville is known for having some of the nation's most pristine drinking water, but Hurricane Helene caused mudslides that sent toxins into this reservoir. It's left residents under a boil order for nearly two months. Fortunately, a chemical treatment process is underway and there are efforts to turn the water quality back to what it once was. The boil order was lifted recently.

"Life is going to get better and the first tangible sign of that is the water coming back online and all that work done by the Corps of Engineers," said Mark O'Hanlon with FEMA.

Western North Carolina remains on the road to recovery and the sound of hard work offers people living here hope that things will one day return as they were.

SEE ALSO | Christmas tree industry in North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene destruction in WNC