Yellowstone Reopens a Key Gateway After Devastating June Flooding
A key segment of the North Carolina mountain pass that connects the Cherokee National Forest to the Great Smoky Mountains is now open as the two national forests move to reopen more than 200 miles of roads and trails.
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A key segment of the North Carolina mountain pass that connects the Cherokee National Forest to the Great Smoky Mountains is now open as the two national forests move to reopen more than 200 miles of roads and trails.
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The National Park Service is once again reopening a 1.8-mile stretch of the North Carolina mountain pass that was closed following a catastrophic June flooding that killed four people and left hundreds more homeless.
The park service announced Wednesday that a portion of the scenic and heavily traveled portion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee has reopened. An adjacent section of the park in North Carolina that is accessed by the North Carolina scenic highway was also open Wednesday.
The North Carolina mountains, which run down the eastern spine of the Great Smokies, are often referred to as the spine of the Great Smoky Mountains because the east and west edges of the park are the result of the mountains rising in the West and then dipping southeast as the East Ridge.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has declared a state of emergency but is making plans for evacuations and other actions in the coming days.
Park officials are also monitoring a large area of the East Tennessee stretch of the park that was also closed.
“The park was not operating for months with the park closed and is a very busy corridor for travelers and residents,” said Gary Cook, NPS regional director for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and part of the authority that is managing the area.
“We will do everything we can to keep visitors and residents safe, as they are in need of our help during this emergency.”
NPS officials said that the reopened portion of the highway will be open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Monday and Tuesday. Drivers can expect severe weather along the road, which is rated as a 4 on an 11-point scale.
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On June 13 North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency in response to the wildfires that began devastating the mountains in late May. On June 15, Cooper and the North Carolina legislature