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Popular North Carolina destinations still working to recover from Hurricane Helene's impact

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Popular North Carolina destinations still working to recover from Hurricane Helene's impact


Hurricane Helene devastated towns across the south in September, causing record rainfall and triggering historic flooding.

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Seven months later, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is still on the ground leading the clean-up effort in western North Carolina – one of those towns being Lake Lure.

A waterpark in the town, which would normally be busy prepping for its peak season, currently has no running water to fill pools or operate watersides as water has been cut off, so that debris can be removed.

Engineer George Minges said there is close to ten feet of debris under the silt and sand in some areas of Lake Lure.

NORTH CAROLINA TOWN DESTROYED BY HURRICANE HELENE HOPING TO WELCOME TOURISTS BACK BY MIDSUMMER 

Hurricane Helene left a waterpark destroyed when it wreaked havoc in western North Carolina, and the park remains closed as the area prepares for peak summer season. (FOX News)

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“It’s this avalanche of soil and trees and rocks and homes. All these came down the river here and were deposited in the lakes,” Minges said.

USACE Col. Brad Morgan said his team has spent months cleaning fragments of storm-damaged trees and other debris from waterways.

“At least 75% of the storm-generated debris from Hurricane Helene had found its way into some type of waterway within Western North Carolina,” Morgan said. “We’ve got some specialized equipment we brought in from the Gulf of America. It’s been out here working since November.”

The USACE has also cleared roadways and is still hauling debris from homes and businesses.

This week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reached a milestone in western North Carolina, removing 5 million cubic yards of debris.  (FOX News)

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“We probably have 7,000 private property parcels that we’ll clean up. L.A. has about 9,000. So just that one part of this disaster response is equal in the size of that of L.A.,” Morgan said.

HURRICANE HELENE CLEANUP IN EAST TENNESSEE FACES STIFF DEADLINE

Lake Lure Mayor Carol Pritchett said the town relied on contractors for the first three weeks, but the USACE has brought the town much further along.

“With the Army Corps of Engineers, they actually began three weeks after Helene, and it was a God-send. We would not be where we are today, truthfully, without them,” Pritchett said.

Pritchett said the town has a great emergency management plan in place for hurricanes, but the power of Hurricane Helene was unexpected.

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“We had a great emergency plan,” Pritchett said. “It was based on and predicted on what the general perspective of what a hurricane has always meant to someone in these western North Carolina mountains … This was just not that hurricane.”

Workers have been clearing debris from storm-damaged trees for months. (FOX News)

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The Army Corps of Engineers has removed more than 5 million cubic yards of debris in western North Carolina since helping with clean-up efforts in the area. Officials said the goal is to remove all debris by July.

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North Carolina man extradited to Pa. for $100,000 ATM theft spree: police

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North Carolina man extradited to Pa. for 0,000 ATM theft spree: police


A 42-year-old North Carolina man on Tuesday was extradited to Pennsylvania after state police said he stole more than $100,000 from ATMs in Snyder and Union counties.

Between Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, Antoni J. Garcia-Cordoba, of Raleigh, North Carolina, stole from four ATMs at Central Penn Bank and Trust locations, state police said.

In a five-hour span, Garcia-Cordoba took $43,000 from three separate ATMs in Snyder and Union counties, according to a police report. On Oct. 1, he stole an additional $58,000 from an ATM in Titusville, bringing the total amount stolen to $101,000.

Garcia-Cordoba is charged with two counts of corrupt organizations – employee, a first-degree felony, and two counts of theft by unlawful taking, a third-degree felony.

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After being in custody at a jail in Boone County, Missouri, Garcia-Cordoba was extradited to Union County on Tuesday.

He is being held in the Union County Prison after being unable to post $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2026.



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11 firefighters and 2 others injured after North Carolina house fire and explosion

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11 firefighters and 2 others injured after North Carolina house fire and explosion


SALISBURY, N.C. — Eleven firefighters and two other people were injured in a house fire explosion in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, officials said.

Salisbury Fire Chief Bob Parnell said firefighters did not have life-threatening injuries but were getting treated for contusions, concussions and smoke inhalation following the fire Monday evening. Two other people were taken to the hospital, but Parnell said he didn’t know their conditions and couldn’t confirm whether they were in the house at the time of the fire.

The Salisbury Fire Department responded to the single-family home around 5 p.m. and found it engulfed in flames.

Eleven of the 22 firefighters at the scene went inside the house to search for occupants and “get water on that fire,” which preceded the explosion, Panell said at a news conference.

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“It was enough force that the outside walls blew out, the roof came up and went back down,” Parnell said.

An investigation of the fire and explosion is continuing.



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Harrison Bertos scores in OT to help Washington beat N.C. State 3-2 and win first Men’s College Cup

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Harrison Bertos scores in OT to help Washington beat N.C. State 3-2 and win first Men’s College Cup


CARY, N.C. (AP) — Harrison Bertos scored 1:54 into overtime after Washington blew a two-goal lead in the second half, and the Huskies beat North Carolina State 3-2 to win the Men’s College Cup at First Horizon Stadium on Monday night.

It was the first national championship for unseeded Washington (16-6-2), who became the first team to win six road matches in the tournament — beating six seeded teams along the way under the guidance of coach Jamie Clark. The Huskies won in their second trip to the final after losing 2-0 to Clemson in 2021.

No. 15 seed N.C. State (16-3-4) made the final for the first time behind coach Marc Hubbard. The Wolfpack were aiming for the school’s first national championship since Jim Valvano led the men’s basketball team to the title in 1983.

Zach Ramsey scored unassisted with 1:12 remaining in the first half and Washington took a 1-0 lead into the break. It was only the second time this season that N.C. State trailed at halftime.

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Ramsey scored into an empty net after Wolfpack goalkeeper Logan Erb couldn’t corral the ball at the top of the box. It was Ramsey’s second goal of the tournament.

Richie Aman sent a cross to the center of the goal and Joe Dale knocked it in for a 2-0 lead in the 62nd minute.

Donavan Phillip answered in the 66th, scoring with an assist from Nikola Markovic to cut it to 2-1 with his fourth goal of the tournament. The Wolfpack entered 11-0-1 when Phillip scores.

Taig Healy scored the equalizer with 3:28 remaining with assists from Justin Mclean and Calem Tommy.

Egor Akulov had an assist on Bertos’ winner.

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Huskies keeper Jadon Bowton, the only remaining player from the 2021 squad, had five saves.

Erb saved six shots for N.C. State, which was the last school to concede a goal this season.

The temperature was 28 degrees when the match between two teams that had never faced each other began.



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