Duke Energy lineman recounts Helene response, recovery in Chimney Rock 1 year later

CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C. – When Hurricane Helene turned rivers and streams into deadly walls of water across western North Carolina one year ago, 100% of Duke Energy personnel were involved in restoring power to 2.7 million customers.

A year later, after repairing more than 350 substations damaged by Helene, Duke Energy linemen, many of whom lived and worked in these communities, are recalling the devastation they saw in the wake of the flooding.

Linemen supervisor Miles Bell has been through 12 hurricane seasons with Duke Energy. He spent about two months in Chimney Rock, North Carolina, after Helene, not far from where he lives in western North Carolina. 

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"This was by far the worst, just as far as devastation to our equipment, but then this one was so bad cause it was paired with just the devastation of the landscape, people's personal property," Bell told FOX Weather. "Places were just unrecognizable. I mean literally, (I) drove past some of this stuff for 30 years and I don't even remember what it used to look like. It's changed so much."

Mountainous regions of western North Carolina saw 20-30 inches of rain between Sept. 25 and 27, 2024. The U.S. Geological Survey documented more than 2,000 landslides, with the majority in this region. Hurricane-force winds downed trees with gusts over 90 mph recorded in Yancey County. Tragically, 86 people were killed by Helene's impacts in North Carolina, most from flooding. 

Chimney Rock was among the hardest hit communities because of the landscape. Roads were gone. Department of Transportation crews have started from the ground up in some areas. 

"It's just a river gorge, and there were places where we had landslides, and I mean you couldn't hardly even hike," Bell said. "It was just like, rock cliff on either side and kind of impassable. We had to wait a bit for things to become safe enough just to traverse. And then we ended up utilizing helicopters and a lot of different things to get the work done."

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Crews were able to get nearly everyone restored within two months after Helene’s historic flooding. 

According to Duke, storm repairs from Helene included more than 60,000 locations. Crews ran 1,700 miles of wire – enough to cover from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Denver, Colorado.

Bell said that a year later, many areas look back to normal, but Chimney Rock, or anywhere near the river banks, are still under intense recovery.

"The 30,000-foot view, you really wouldn't know. It’s isolated little pockets," Bell said. "There are still places that are just ravished and, not so much from a power standpoint, because we got everybody that could have power. We got that taken care of."

Chimney Rock still looks like a "war zone," Bell said, due to the rock slides and damage from the river flooding. The North Carolina Department of Transportation had to work from the bedrock up.

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Organizations continue to rebuild the small communities most devastated by Helene. 

"It was through all the heartbreak and the devastation, it really was powerful to see everybody lifting one another up and kind of teaming up, partnering together," Bells said.

This hurricane season, which has spared the U.S. a direct hit so far, Bell said he is much more prepared. 

"Being a lineman you kind of always pay attention to the weather," Bell said. "I mean everyday, weather trumps everything. It doesn't matter what your plans are … weather trumps it all. So we're all kind of slaves to the weather. I've always paid attention to it, but now I would say my awareness is just a tick higher."