ASHEVILLE, N.C. — One year after Hurricane Helene, it is hard to come up with a simple answer when asked, “How’s Asheville?”

There is recovery, with some infrastructure rebuilt, businesses open and many trails cleared.

But there are scars, with sunshine where shade used to be, wider creeks and patches of empty ground where last year someone’s home or livelihood stood.

While it is hard to not think about who or what is missing, there is a sense of community, forged by survival and a genuine desire to help one another.

On Sept. 27, 2024, the town of Black Mountain, just east of Asheville, was cut off completely by swollen waterways.

John Coffey, the fire chief of Black Mountain, told a Helene anniversary event this week that even though he'd felt he had prepared for the storm, “We weren

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