CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Damage from Hurricane Helene has left many western North Carolina communities devastated.
Lake Lure, North Carolina is among the most decimated towns across the state. Debris covered the town as recently as Monday with boats, docks, and tree trunks among the items scattered abroad.
Officials worried on Friday that Helene's impact would cause the Lake Lure Dam to collapse. Excessive rain from Helene caused the lake to fill up over the dam. An evacuation order was mandated because of the concern. The dam survived but the town as a whole is in ruins.
Lake Lure is located in Rutherford County, about 40 miles southeast of Asheville. The town of just over 1,000 residents is named after Lake Lure, a reservoir created by the construction of the Lake Lure Dam to secure the area from Broad River.
The town became a popular tourism destination in western North Carolina, particularly for the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge (formerly the Rocky Broad River Bridge). The bridge was designated as a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. Flooding from Helene destroyed the bridge, eliminating one of Lake Lure's biggest draws.
Lake Lure is also a popular filming location for big-budget films. Dirty Dancing (1987), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), and Firestarter (1984) are some of the movies filmed in Lake Lure or nearby Chimney Rock, which was also hit hard by Helene.
The destruction across Rutherford County and North Carolina continues to grow. Over 130 people are reported to have been killed by Helene with at least 40 in Asheville's Buncombe County.