Helene's grueling toll 3 weeks later: 26 missing; water shortages linger

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – More than three weeks after Tropical Storm Helene ravaged western North Carolina, 26 people remain unaccounted for Tuesday as schools and government offices prepare to reopen amid prolonged power outages and water service disruptions.

The missing were being sought and tracked by a North Carolina Department of Public Safety task force created after several hundred people were unaccounted for amid widespread communication and power blackouts. Last week, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said 96 people were missing.

Helene's death toll stands at 224; a total of 96 storm-related deaths were reported in North Carolina alone. The toll includes 49 deaths in South Carolina, 33 in Georgia, 27 in Florida, 17 in Tennessee and two in Virginia.

While search operations continue, other large-scale recovery efforts were underway after what Cooper said was "the deadliest and most devastating storm" in North Carolina's history.

Hundreds of roads remain closed. Dozens of parks are shuttered. At least 7,300 homes and businesses were without power as of Tuesday. And all residents in the storm-battered city of Asheville remain under a boil water advisory.

Some things are returning to normal – or at least intend to. The school board in hard-hit Buncombe County voted to reopen schools Friday. In Asheville, officials lifted a citywide curfew Monday, and the school district announced classes will resume next week. Major attractions, including the North Carolina Arboretum and the Biltmore Estate, were preparing to reopen.

Here's what we know about the recovery in western North Carolina.

3 weeks after Helene, some residents still have no running water

Though a significant portion of Asheville's water system has come back online, the water is still not safe to drink and areas pummeled by landslides remain without water altogether – frustrating residents.

Officials in Asheville said about 95% of the city's water system is running non-potable water. For many, the water that sputtered out of faucets was brown or sediment-filled, but it was enough to flush their toilets.

Some pockets of the city remain "particularly problematic" because of pipes being washed out in the historic deluge, Water Resources Department spokesperson Clay Chandler said. Some residents at higher elevations also might need to wait longer for running water, she said.

Del Coufal and his neighbors have not had water for three weeks. Amid the outage, Coufal has settled into a new routine: stopping at various water distribution sites around the county to pick up boxes of water for his family.

Though he understands the complications, Coufal said, it's still frustrating to watch as water returns to other parts of Asheville and Buncombe County.

“Honestly, it’s just the life’s essentials that you kind of take for granted, and now that they’re gone, it can be really challenging," he said. He can get by for another week or two, but not knowing is difficult. “You just continue on. I guess that’s all you can do."

School districts in battered Asheville, Buncombe County set to reopen

Multiple school districts in western North Carolina were set to reopen after weeks of repairs and restoration.

The Asheville City School District, which serves 3,900 students, will reopen on Oct. 28 with two shortened days before resuming its regular schedule Oct. 30. Superintendent Maggie Fehrman said staff are working to prepare lessons to support students with their experiences after the storm.

"When you get your students back in the building, you have to take some time to process what happened and give them that opportunity for their voices to be heard so they feel seen," Fehrman said.

The district is also working on plans to support staff who have had traumatic experiences. "We did have staff that lost their home, but we also have staff that lost their family. One of our staff members lost 11 members of her family," Fehrman said.

The school district for Buncombe County, which encompasses Asheville and its surrounding communities, will resume classes on Friday, the district said. Earlier in the month, the district announced the deaths of four of its students from Helene. All other students have since been accounted for.

Non-potable water is back at each of the district's campuses, but with a boil-water notice still in effect, the district is unable to reopen to pre-K students. An emergency plan is pending with the state, Fehrman said, adding she does not have a timeline for its approval.

Debris processing sites galvanize local residents amid health concerns

After resident concerns mounted over temporary debris processing sites opened in Asheville – two of them near a public housing neighborhood – officials closed several sites and designated another as the new main area for staging, grinding and compacting debris.

The announcement said no additional debris will be taken to 65 Ford St. – a grassy expanse near public housing complex Deaverview Apartments and adjacent to Westmore, which has 72 affordable apartments for low-income families – while the city continues to secure additional sites, City Manager Debra Campbell said at a Buncombe County briefing.

Officials also closed a processing site set up last week in the Asheville Municipal Golf Course.

“We are aware of the concern that many have expressed about the location of sites that were initially chosen to manage storm debris," Campbell said. "I want to emphasize that the safest thing we can do for our environment, our economy and our community is to remove storm debris from our homes and business areas as quickly and as responsibly as possible."

The processing sites were opened to deal with the 10 million cubic yards of wreckage generated by Helene in Buncombe County and Asheville.

Last week, Campbell said the sites would serve temporarily as staging for organic waste, such as trees and vegetation; construction and demolition materials; appliances and electronics; and household hazardous waste like batteries, pesticides, paint and cleaning supplies. Processing the materials might produce "noise, dust and smells," she said.

The sites, which are estimated to operate for at least a year, quickly galvanized nearby residents.

“We’re trying to get a committee together to get them out of here. Because we’ve got children, babies. This is our health," said Vivian Pagan, a longtime resident of a public housing complex near one of the now-closed sites. “We don’t want them here. They can find somewhere else to put that place.”

Reopenings announced as residents seek 'sense of normalcy'

Campbell said city offices will reopen Wednesday. Some city facilities remain closed, including several recreation centers and regional entertainment facilities.

The Biltmore Estate, one of Asheville's most popular tourist attractions and largest employers, announced it will reopen on Nov. 2 after portions of its grounds, including its entrance and multiple low-lying buildings, were damaged.

“We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support for our community and the determination of our first responders, utility workers and community volunteers,” Bill Cecil Jr., president and CEO of Biltmore, said in a statement. “As recovery unfolds, welcoming guests back to Biltmore not only means we can open, but also brings critical support to our region’s economy to aid area employees, local businesses and friends."

The North Carolina Arboretum in southern Asheville is working to reopen by Nov. 18, the first day of its annual Winter Lights Festival.

The storm uprooted more than 5,000 trees across the 434-acre enclave. To make a successful reopening a reality, arboretum officials are in talks with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“We’re trying to get open as quick as we can,” said Drake Fowler, the North Carolina Arboretum's executive director. “We have people calling and asking all the time; they want to get out and walk their dog, and they want that sense of normalcy.”

Contributing: Jacob Biba, Asheville Citizen Times; Houston Harwood, USA TODAY Network; Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY