Bat Cave sits at the intersection of three highways – all of which had massive chunks of road that washed into the rivers and creeks below during the storm. Downed trees, landslides and bridges that crumbled made getting into and out of the area almost impossible for days after the storm. Some people were evacuated by helicopter, others hiked out through steep ravines caused by the flooding.
A year later, many residents have returned to work on repairing their homes. They not only face narrow and steep one-lane roads but also the constant flow of construction trucks and heavy machinery. And many who are back living throughout the mountain community have only sections of their homes that are habitable.
The handful of businesses that operated out of Bat Cave have not yet reopened, and some of their buildings no longer exist.
The remnants of landslides – one of which pushed a house into the middle of the road and crushed a car like a beer can – are still visible on the mountain. Other homes are inaccessible because of the damage to the land surrounding them.
In recent weeks, BPR returned to speak with several residents in this rural outpost of Henderson County about the recovery process. Most seemed unwilling to portray themselves as victims. Instead, they looked forward to a community that has changed, but that they refuse to abandon.
“Every day we see progress,” said Suzette Dupuis, a resident of more than two decades who lives on Middle Fork Road.
Her neighbor, Sherry Murphy is also hopeful about the future of Bat Cave. Her family has lived in the yellow house at the top of the road for generations. Water got in her home after winds from the strom pushed parts of the roof off. Volunteers made repairs. But Murphy’s big loss was a landslide that moved about an acre of land where she grew she had a garden. Volunteers helped stabilize the land but she worries it will continue to shift when heavy rains come.
Still, Murphy said she has no plans to leave the house, no matter how inconvenient the circumstances..
“ I live there, I'll die there,” she said. “Same way with my dad – he died there. My mom died there.”
Dupuis and Murphy are able to access their homes despite the damage to Bat Cave’s roads, which is not something every resident can say.
Navigating the aftermath
The highways that run through Bat Cave – U.S. 9, 74 and 64 – are in much better shape than they were a year ago. But any route through the community is peppered with sections of one lane traffic, gravel where asphalt used to be and – in some places – orange cones blocking off sections where there is no more road. These routes are even more dangerous because of the steep banks that line the roads. Road debris, like side railings, can still be seen in the river below.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation began construction on permanent repairs to these roads earlier this year, and they expect the projects to cost upwards of $200 million.
NCDOT has six major projects in Bat Cave alone. Officials said just keeping traffic moving has cost $23 million in temporary fixes.
Much of the challenge for contractors in the area lies in steep terrain.
“These areas are very difficult with the steep slopes and the mud and the rock and everything,” Ali Gering, assistant resident engineer for NCDOT Division 14 told WLOS. “Constructability is a huge part in what we do and trying to figure that out with the contractor is the best way to do it.”
Some private bridges that lead to and from groups of homes are still not repaired. The state’s transportation agency can’t repair those bridges, and it often has been the work of volunteers. The state did however launch a $100 million program for property owners to help pay for the repairs to those private roads.
“Be here ‘til the end”
Dupuis navigates the winding roads of Bat Cave with the calm of someone who has lived here for decades. She doesn’t bat an eye as she takes curves of roads that have been reduced to a sliver of a lane after the storm washed the rest of them away. The food she is delivering shifts in the back of her minivan as she whips it through the neighborhood.
She and Murphy call out to the groups of men working to rebuild these roads, asking how many home-cooked lunches they need for the day. The pair spend every Wednesday volunteering.
Most of the workers Dupuis and Murphy visit on their Wednesday food runs are Latino – some hardly speak English – but they make their best effort to thank the women despite the language barrier.
“ There's nothing better than to see the smile on these guys' face and knowing that we're gonna be here ‘til the end and we're gonna help them till the end,” Dupuis said.
Dupuis said despite the damage to the roads outside her home and the struggles of recovery, she never plans to move away from the area.
“ I'm leaving in a body bag. I don't ever wanna move off this mountain,” she said.
“They’re actually listening to us”
The destruction of roads and the bridges that lead in and out of Bat Cave rendered it an island. Its unique geological position introduced another danger: landslides.
A landslide took out Steve Freeman’s garage, three of his cars and pushed inches of mud and debris inside his home.
Freeman barely survived the landslide and had a layer of mud in half of his house and damage to his roof from trees falling.
He serves as the Bat Cave Volunteer Fire Chief and said he turned his attention towards rescuing others instead of his own home.
Despite the destruction and long road ahead, Steve is optimistic about the future of Bat Cave. He’s part of a county-formed group of residents who are weighing in on what they would like to see county officials consider when rebuilding.
Bat Cave is an unincorporated area in Henderson County, meaning there is no formal town council or governing body except the county commissioners. Steve sees being the fire chief as a quasi-governmental role as he deals with the most immediate needs of his neighbors every day.
“ So it makes for a more tight knit community,” he said. That makes it easier to articulate with the county commissioners and just speeds up the process.”
The rural mountain neighborhood can feel like a world away from the county commission chambers in downtown Hendersonville. Still, the county has made a concentrated effort to hear from the Bat Cave community. They’ve hired Equinox Consultants to create a formal recovery plan with input from residents.
“ The only constant is change, but I think it can be made better, especially with the county and everybody coming together,” he said.”They're actually listening to us and trying to come up with a good plan for everything.”
