Disturbed Landscapes: The Swannanoa River in Biltmore Village, Biltmore Estate, and Cane Creek Two and a Half Months After Helene Hit Western North Carolina
The Swannanoa Riverbank Near Biltmore Village with a Child’s Toy Snagged in the Trees
This is what the landscape surrounding the Swannanoa River by Biltmore Village looks like two and a half months after Helene devastated our region. And it isn’t just like this in one small area, it looks similar to this all along the river, in many place along the French Broad, on Cane Creek and along so many waterways and tributaries in Western North Carolina. It is heartbreaking to see the things that have washed up and all the mangled debris. Somehow this chid’s toy got all twisted up in this tree by the force of the water, along with a shoe, plastic, metal, wood, and countless other human-made items and bits of nature. Tomorrow, the legislature will be voting on whether to overturn Governor Cooper’s veto of SB 382, the bill that was ostensibly providing aid to Western North Carolina, but really isn’t and is instead a way to shift power away from Democrats and would place the Board of Elections under the State Auditor (who will be a Republican in January). (https://ncnewsline.com/2024/12/10/moral-mondays-protest-raleigh-activists-denounce-legislative-coup/). The only money earmarked for Western North Carolina was $252 million with few new uses approved. The damage estimates in North Carolina are $53 billion. I am sharing this images so you can see how much damage still remains, which is why mixing politics with aid is such a problem.
These images were made along Thompson Road, which runs parallel to the river. The Swannanoa actually went through the Young Office Building across the street behind where I was standing. It was truly shocking to see and it will take a very long time to clean up, rebuild, and find a way forward. North Carolina needs real relief and not in the form of a legislative coup, but in the form of actual funds that people can use for their very real needs. There are still people living in tents in the town of Swannanoa (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5Ps1451hmk) and we have already had a few days of very cold weather.
The rising water totally destroyed this low lying area. Buildings were decimated, trucks and cars are still in the river, and you can see how high the water rose from the plastic in the trees. The river is narrow here and there was nowhere for it to go. The bridge that is visible in the top two images became totally dammed up when trees and large objects got trapped there. It is quite depressing to drive around and see downed trees, mud, and destruction in so many areas. The people in our communities are banding together and helping and I still see trucks with license plates from around the country, but we are going to need a lot more help. Often, in the months following a disaster, people in other areas forget about what happened and support drops off. I usually try and look on the bright side of whatever situation I’m in, but it is unconscionable for our legislators to turn away fro this very really damage and all the hardship it is causing people.
What Must The Trees That are Still Standing Be Feeling Now
And I keep wondering what the trees that are still standing are feeling and if the creatures that lived in the ones that were ripped from the ground have found new homes. Humans are not the only ones who have suffered.
View of the Biltmore House Reframed After Helene
After leaving the river by Biltmore Village , I decided to go to the Biltmore Estate for the first time since Helene hit. The Biltmore House from this vantage point was featured in the movie Being There. I have had many picnics in this spot and always found it so beautiful. Now the trees around the reflecting pond are filled with branches and organic matter washed in by the French Broad River. On the whole, the Estate appears to be in pretty good shape at present, but they have a large grounds staff who have been cleaning up the property for the past 2-1/2 months. Most of the remaining issues are near the river and in adjacent fields. The big trees planted by Olmstead in other parts of the property seemed to have held up fairly well.
Much of the grounds have been cleared, but there is still lots of debris higher up in the branches since the water rose 15 feet here. Astonishingly, some areas still seemed beautiful despite the devastation, but that may be because the land was so well cared for to begin with. You can still see the sweeping gestures of the limbs of many of the trees, and that lifted my spirits a bit. With all the destruction we have been causing the planet, we can’t just turn away from disturbance-based ecologies because as we have learned in Western North Carolina, no place is exempt from the effects of human influence. We need to look for and appreciate lifeforms in these areas and learn how they survived, so we can shift our own behavior, not only to live more sustainably, but also to become more adaptable and to learn more effective coping strategies.
The riverbanks look so chaotic, and I can’t help but wonder how things be in the spring. Still compared to Biltmore Village and the River Arts District, this landscape is in much better shape, probably due to the open land surrounding the river. The river is wider here too, so not as much got trapped.
Smashed Car and Downed Trees Along the Banks of Cane Creek
The image above was made a few days ago on Cane Creek right next to a bridge that had to be rebuilt. So many cars and trucks and pieces of equipment remain on the banks and in fields where the water flowed.
Nature Absorbing Destruction
In areas where the trees weren’t entirely stripped, I was able to imagine how nature might be able to absorb this destruction and heal the scars that are still so visible. Down the road is a football field sized area where giant double black trucks are bringing all the logs they pull from the creek and from the piles people leave in front of their homes. Eventually, the life that remains will be left to carry on and will spread as it regenerates, unless we have more severe storms.
But for now, a lot of detritus remains. The creek has been widened a lot too, and the earth at its edges has been violently carved away. I live half a mile from this creek, fortunately on much higher ground. Our bridge has finally been rebuilt and they built it higher this time, in case this supposedly 1 in 1,000 year event is a harbinger of what is to come.
If you have gotten this far, I am grateful that you kept looking. I don’t usually include so many images in a post, especially images of trauma. The reason I did so, was to convey just how extensive the damage to Western North Carolina is, and this is still just a very small part of the devastation. Some days I wish I could shut my eyes to it all, but when you are driving a car that isn’t possible. Besides, I love this land and these waterways. They are my home. So I keep going out, looking for signs of resurgence and collaborative survival. I will share another post with some of those images soon. For now, if you live in Western North Carolina, please express your displeasure to our elected officials and if you live nearby consider going to the state capital in Raleigh at 10:30 tomorrow, when the vote is supposed to take place. The people here, our land, and our waterways all need help.