Chimney Rock, Lake Lure looking to rebuild [Video]

Two tight-knit Western North Carolina communities are looking to rebuild and help their neighbors a week after Helene brought devastating floods to the area.Chimney Rock Mayor Peter O’Leary said Helene damaged the village so severely that any memory people had of the village prior to the storm is only a memory.“The old Chimney Rock is no longer there,” he said. Military helicopters could be seen circling the area on Friday as crews clean up Chimney Rock and Lake Lure down below. O’Leary said search and rescue operations remain ongoing, and there is too much debris to allow people back into the area.He also said there are a lot of unanswered questions, such as the village’s building codes and how Chimney Rock could be configured moving forward. O’Leary said the river has changed, and the village must change with it.Rick Spruill’s Chimney Rock Brewing Company was washed away by the flood.“There’s …