The town of Chimney Rock, NC, was almost completely devastated during Hurricane Helene. The highway between Chimney Rock and the nearest town of Bat Cave was completely wiped out when the water level of the Broad River and Lake Lure rose far above flood level. Families from Chimney Rock have now been allowed back to assess their homes for the first time, thanks to a group of volunteers from West Virginia.
A group of coal miners showed up with heavy equipment and literally moved a mountain to reopen access to Chimney Rock. The locals have lovingly dubbed them the “West Virginia Boys.”
On Friday, the miners shoved the final 20-ton granite boulder out of the way and restored access between Bat Cave and Chimney Rock. Locals had been expecting FEMA and government work crews to take up to a year to restore access, but now they’re able to get back to their homes on the makeshift road. Residents had expected to be trapped outside of Chimney Rock for the winter, as the North Carolina Department of Transportation and FEMA had no plans to reopen the road anytime soon.
As for the “West Virginia Boys,” they’ve refused to give their names to media outlets after reopening the road. They’re worried that the Biden-Harris regime will prosecute them for building an unsanctioned road to reconnect the two towns.
The NCDOT and the Army Corps of Engineers were expected to send surveyors and engineers to inspect the damage to the road sometime in November. The West Virginia Boys built the new road in just three days, before state or federal “helpers” were even able to get their paperwork done to pay a visit to Chimney Rock.
