BANNER ELK, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper returned to western North Carolina on Thursday to announce the return of tourism to the area following Hurricane Helene.
Cooper visited Grandfather Mountain and Banner Elk on Thursday, announcing that multiple state parks and mountains will be open starting Friday, including Crowders Mountain, Grandfather Mountain and Lake Norman State Park.
Cooper and residents in the mountains touched on how quickly the turnaround was for the area, with several people thanking Cooper and other leaders for their support in the aftermath of Helene. They're hopeful for what's to come.
"People are welcome here," Charlie Brady said. "Businesses need their support."
Meanwhile, residents are looking forward to a new reality post-Helene.
"The mountains are strong," Margaret Newbold said. "The people here are strong and everyone has come together to help."
Cooper was joined by country singer Eric Church in Banner Elk. Church, an Appalachian State graduate, shared how significant the mountains are to him personally and why he felt compelled to help. Church and fellow North Carolina native Luke Combs promoted the Concert for Carolina benefit show in Charlotte last week, raising over $24 million for Helene recovery efforts.
Church said people in impacted communities must be able to stay there, rather than being permanently displaced from their homes.
"The sense of community, I know how strong that is because I've been here," Church said. "We're going to try to keep people in their community. Give them a home where their church is, where their school is, so they continue to build it from the inside out."
Church acknowledged it's going to be a long recovery for some folks in the mountains but shared optimism that the hope of a brighter future motivates them to rebuild their communities. October is typically the busiest time of the year for fall tourism in the High Country. As a result, many businesses took a loss this year, but Cooper remains hopeful that state lawmakers will help them stay afloat until next fall.
"Tourism brings in so many dollars to this area," Brady said. "With the flood, people were afraid to come."
"There's a commitment to make sure western North Carolina recovers and we're going to work hard until it's done," Cooper said.
So far, more than 1,000 roads that closed are back open and 302 are still closed. Cooper said many others are expected to open in November.
"There are a lot of places across western North Carolina that are open for business," he said. "That's why we're asking you to check your maps and come out here and spend some money to help these businesses recover."
It's a job mountain residents say they can't do alone.
"Businesses are struggling," Newbold said. "It's our job as tourists and locals to get out and support those businesses."
Contact Anna King at aking2@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X, and Instagram.