Asheville, NC News and In-Depth Reporting

Short-Term Rental Owners Steel Themselves for Long Recovery

Hurricane Helene flooded Asheville's River Arts District, once a hotspot for local creatives and tourists. (Photo by Mike Belleme for The Assembly)

Western N.C.’s vacation rental industry, a key component of the tourism economy, faces an uncertain future after Hurricane Helene.

Dried okra pods at the Princeton Seed Farm. (Photos courtesy of Tessa Desmond)

Okra seeds yield a liquid comparable to extra-virgin olive oil, but the crop isn’t ready for commercial production.

Dried mud coats bushes and grass in Biltmore Village. (Photo by Jessica Wakeman for The Assembly)

Asheville has welcomed tourism back after Hurricane Helene. But in Biltmore Village, recovery is still months away.

Asheville's 12 Baskets offers supplies to those in need during their morning meal distribution. (Caleb Johnson for The Assembly)

The area already faced rising housing prices and a growing number of people without homes.

People wait to buy groceries outside an Asheville Ingles grocery store in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

In Western North Carolina, Ingles is the flagship supermarket. But Helene has dealt the brand a major blow.

Flooding from Hurricane Helene covers Swannanoa River Road. (Photo by Storms Reback)

We knew Hurricane Helene was going to bring rain. We didn’t foresee it delivering devastation so widespread its impact will be felt for years.

Water rises toward the first floor of apartments in an Asheville building where residents were evacuated by boat. (Photo courtesy of Lemuel Robinson)

Neighbors in an Asheville apartment building gathered on the second floor as floodwaters rose on Friday.

The bridge crossing the Swannanoa River on Blue Ridge Road in Black Mountain was swept away by flood waters. (Photo courtesy of Rey Castillo Jr.)

In Black Mountain, residents encounter blocked roads, short supplies, and unimaginable damage.

The emergency shelter has taken in 300 evacuees from areas hard-hit by Hurricane Helene’s flooding.

(Photo courtesy of the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association.)

Installers are navigating new state rules that have put a damper on rooftop solar.