Thank you to Mountain True and French Broad Riverkeeper for Organising a French Broad River Cleanup in the River Arts District

Hartwell Carson, the French Broad Riverkeeper

Yesterday Dave and I joined volunteers who came out to help clean up some of the debris in the River Arts District in Asheville, one of the hardest hit areas in Buncombe County and Western North Carolina. The impact of Hurricane Helene in this area is beyond comprehension. It is like a war zone and seeing it in person was deeply troubling. Yet being in the company of the many volunteers who came out wearing PPE to stay safe while picking up garbage that the river had strewn everywhere gave me hope that one day this area will recover and people will once again be able to enjoy this previously vibrant area. Since I moved to Asheville, I have spent so much time here, walking along the river, going to artists studios and taking classes, eating at restaurants and of course, going to the Asheville Guitar Bar to hear music and connect with the beautiful community Mark and Julia Goldthwaite helped create and have fostered over the years.

Trees Festooned with Debris Along the French Broad

Everywhere you looked, trees had debris in the branches showing how high the water level rose above the river’s normal height. To clean this all up is a monumental task and parts along the riverfront can’t be cleaned up by machines since the trees are still alive. Volunteers were climbing along the banks and reaching up into trees to remove what was caught in the branches.

There are destroyed storage and shipping containers, pieces of wood from demolished buildings, plastic tarps, pieces of metal, burnt tubing, and so many other building materials and miscellaneous pieces of man-made detritus along the river banks. It was if the water was telling us that all of our technology and human efforts are inconsequential against the power of nature when it is unleashed in full force. There was a stiff breeze yesterday and despite our PPE, our eyes burned and we felt nauseous from the toxic dust. Even when I looked up to the tops of the trees, things seemed all confused, whether the disorganisation was caused by floodwaters or Helene’s strong winds.

The bridge near where the White Duck Taco restaurant was crosses an area of the river that is narrower, which caused huge mountains of debris to pile up as the water kept rising. The river backed up in places since there was too much water to get through, and it cut new paths for itself. The whole landscape south of White Duck Taco to the bridge and everything but the restaurant’s quonset hut was swept away leaving a barren expanse of sandy earth. The cap of a storm drain was lifted and a piece of its concrete structure was broken. The mounds of metal and pieces of wood, foam rubber, and plastic were not created by machines; they were made by the force of the water which carried along everything it encountered until it reached anything that was still strong enough to remain standing, causing the detritus to create temporary damns and leave behind souvenirs of destruction from up river.

How some trees remained standing even when huge piles of wood and corrugated metal slammed into them, or entire trees were caught in their branches was nothing short of miraculous. These photographs were made almost a month after the storm hit. When the more massive piles are removed, which will have to be done by heavy equipment, these trees will again be able to grow unencumbered. I couldn’t help wondering what they experienced during the storm’s most violent phase and wether they are still suffering now from the weight of what it left behind. I know all of us here who are witnessing scenes of destruction on a daily basis have been going through phases of grief and have lost our lightness of being. But this is our home and we can’t give up hope and so we offer help however we are able to.

Volunteers sawed up big tarps and carried pieces of fence and other large objects. Bags of trash lined the riverwalk, as well as urinals, fermenting beverage containers, and other assorted large objects.

A guard rail was dangling over the side of a bridge, showing how heigh the water went, and a floating dock was trapped below. Another storage container was still wrapped around a different piling in the middle of the river.

Everywhere there was evidence of the destructive force of the water, from toppled signs and streetlights to restaurant equipment relocated in the middle of a field.

A huge cargo container, possibly one carried by a train on the tracks nearby, was toppled on its side like it was a toy car. Across the street a machine was picking up a boat trailer and transporting it to a nearby dumpster. It was mind boggling to think people have already been working to clean this area for four weeks.

The Cotton Mill Building is where the Asheville Guitar Bar was located. Water rose over the bar and everything on the ground floor has been taken down to the studs according to the owners. Only a beam on the ceiling from the original construction is left. The damage would have been even worse if the building next door had not taken the brunt of the water’s force. Piles of wood and debris were forced through this building and were visibly sticking out through the missing wall on the far side. It is going to be a long time before this area recovers and some questions will need to be asked about what types of structures should be built here and how high off the ground they need to be. Though this was reported to be a 1 in 1000 year fold, the water has flooded the road and parking lots several times since I moved here seven years ago and storms are becoming increasingly severe.

The riverwalk was eroded in many places, and we even saw a car flipped upside down and trapped in the snag of a fallen tree. New Belgium Brewery, across the river, sustained damage as did many of Asheville’s breweries. New Belgium is higher up than many business in the area and they hope to open again by the end of the year, which is one bright spot on the horizon.

The River Arts District has always been a place that welcomed everyone, as the sign above attests. It was such a central hub of the Asheville community and it is heartbreaking to see what Helene unleashed on the area. Riverview Station housed several galleries and artist spaces, as well as 310 Arts where I have attended many painting workshops over the years. Just north of Riverview Station there were many old industrial buildings that were destroyed, the debris from which was trapped here and reached two stories high. Please consider helping the French Broad Riverkeeper, Mountain True, and other groups coming into this area to help our community recover. The scars to the land and the people who made their livelihoods in this area run deep and it will take more than our local community alone to help revitalise this area. What happened here is also evidence that no place is safe from climate change. Many of us moved here because Western North Carolina was not supposed to have hurricanes and tornadoes . (I drove across the country twice looking for the safest place to live after suffering storm damage in Florida.) One of the reasons George Vanderbilt built the Biltmore Estate in Asheville was because of the area’s mild climate, and many have second homes here for the same reason. Asheville has become a mecca for tourists as well, due to the climate and the vibrant art and music scene. It is almost a month since Helene hit and I am still having a difficult time wrapping my head around what happened here and what this means for our future in Western North Carolina, and everywhere on the planet. If this isn’t evidence that we are facing a climate crisis, I don’t know what is.

To make donations to the French Broad Riverkeeper and Mountain True, click here: https://mountaintrue.org/waters/french-broad-riverkeeper/

To help the Asheville Guitar Bar, click here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/benefit-for-mark-and-julia-and-the-asheville-guitar-bar?utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_content=amp8_t3&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

Many of the art studios, including 310 Arts, also have their own Go Fund Me pages, so you can search for them and offer your support that way too.