LAKE LURE, N.C. — UPDATE 9/22/25: After cataloging each collar, Lake Lure Flowering Bridge volunteer Amy Wald says the accurate number of recovered items is 135 pet collars.

The town of Lake Lure will receive $2.5 million dollars in FEMA funding to replace the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge. While the namesake bridge has been torn down due to significant structural damage, volunteers are in the planning process of bringing back many attractions on the garden grounds including the beloved Rainbow Bridge.

WFMY News 2 has learned 139 collars that mourners placed on the Rainbow Bridge t o honor their pets have been recovered in Hurricane Helene's rubble.

Volunteer Amy Wald says the majority of them were found still attached to posts and covered in mud and sand. The collars have since been

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