Yancey County residents gathered Tuesday evening, October 29th at Mtn Heritage High School to hear updates about Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. County Commissioners Chairman Jeff Whitson, County Manager Lynn Austin, Sheriff Shane Hilliard, Burnsville Mayor Russell Fox, Burnsville Fire Chief Niles Howell, Superintendent Kathy Amos, French Broad General Manager and CEO Jeff Loven, the National Guard , DOT and FEMA representatives all spoke at the event. It was reported there have been 10 deaths (8 in Yancey, 2 Mitchell) and 3 people are still missing in Yancey County.
General Manager and CEO Jeff Loven of French Broad reported that around 2000 poles have been replaced throughout the eight county French Broad service area. It is estimated that close to 2500 poles will be replaced during the recovery efforts. As of 4:45am Wednesday (10/30) Yancey County has 1,093 of 13,962 customers without power. Mitchell County has 95 of 5,703 customers without power. Work continues 7 days a week with hundreds of linemen working.
Other points from the evening include:
The county will continue to provide fuel for residents in areas where the majority of homes are still running on generators.
The county is consulting with the state on a tax reevaluation post Helene to offer relief on taxes.
The town of Burnsville was able to get their water and sewer back on in record time. What should have taken months only took weeks.
Yancey County schools have a plan to reopen but have not set a time schedule. Part of the problem is the huge undertaking of getting a water line to supply Blue Ridge Elementary and Cane River Middle School.
Yancey County Schools have received a waiver from the state and spring break, Christmas Break and Summer Break will be as normal.
