The Town of Lake Lure hopes to welcome back tourists, boaters and swimmers this summer as officials begin refilling the lake 15 months after Hurricane Helene struck Western North Carolina.
Town officials announced the refilling Feb. 6, marking the first step toward restoring it to its full level of 990.5 feet above mean sea level.
Helene dumped 15 inches of rain into Lake Lure, flooding it with sand, silt and debris that washed down the Rocky Broad River, according to the Citizen Times.
The damage left behind from the storm means the process to return to normal has been slow and steady. In October 2024, officials lowered the lake by up to 20 feet so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could remove debris and sediment, Lake Lure Mayor Carol Pritchett said.
To lower the levels of the lake, officials had to maneuver the tainter gates, radial floodgates that allow dams and canal locks to control water flow. The floodgates are located 12 feet under the Lake Lure dam.
“ The most that we have ever been able to lower the lake since it was built in 1926 is 12 feet by using the tainter gates,” Pritchett told BPR.
READ MORE: ‘A tough mission:’ Clearing debris from Lake Lure ongoing
The Army Corps completed the cleanup of the lake about a year after Helene. Pritchett said that the federal agency removed 1.1 million tons of sediment from the water.
“One thing that you have to know is that we are only allowed by (North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality) DEQ to increase the level of the lake by one foot a day because doing it more quickly than that would put too much stress on the dam,” Pritchett said.
The Rocky Broad River must maintain its full flow to prevent it from drying up downstream, and the lake will have to rely solely on rainfall for replenishment.
Town officials are aiming for the lake to open Memorial Day weekend, a moment that could bring much relief to the area.
“It'll have a huge impact on the economy and a huge impact on the small business owners,” Pritchett said. “It’ll also have a huge impact on the people who live in Lake Lure. I live on the lake and everyone who lives on the lake has moved there because of the beauty of the lake and is looking forward to it (opening) as well.”
Business since Helene
In the 15 months since the storm, local businesses in the town of Lake Lure have struggled without tourism, which is central to the town’s economy.
“ I'm very proud of the fact that none of our business owners just left,” Pritchett said. “I mean, many of them, I'm sure that had to be on their minds to do that, but they've been very patient. They've been very strong. They've taken the opportunities to do renovations and repairs on their buildings in the hopes and with the assurance that the lake would be up this next year. So, 2026 will be a very different year than 2025, certainly.”
Pritchett added that the closure to U.S. 64/74A, the most direct route to Lake Lure from Asheville and Hendersonville, also played a part in slowing tourism.
One business owner eager for the lake to be filled up is Jenny Lail. She and her husband are the owners of Lake Lure Boat Rental.
A former Polk County Schools teacher, Lail helped run the rental business since 2018. Before Helene impacted the town, Lail said they would rent out boats every day during the peak summer season.
“ We operate, probably, starting in mid-March, but mid-April things start to heat up,” Lail said. “And then, obviously, June, July, August — man, we could rent a ton of boats per day if we had them.”
When Helene made landfall in the town, it damaged some of her boats causing the couple to sell and replace all six of them.
Lail estimates that their business lost upwards of $100,000 from being out of commission for more than a year because the lake wasn’t full.
Lail said she was quite happy to learn the lake may be refilled by Memorial day.
“It's the most beautiful lake anywhere I've ever been,” Lali said. “So it's special to my heart. My husband's family has been on this lake for almost 75 years. We just hope to continue that legacy and keep growing tourism and being a contributing factor to the community.”
