Local Updates: 10-23-2024
Asheville on Bikes has created a resource map that includes services and resources like food, water, showers, and laundry. Restaurants and early voting locations have been added, too. View the map at Asheville Recovery Resources, www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1C4n6wMHcNkGtxpES1p-rzFyRYDZyvaE&usp=sharing
Community Care Stations provide space for the public to shower, do laundry, use the bathroom, access cell towers and wifi, get potable/non-potable water, and access counseling services. Residents are asked to bring towels, shower shoes, and toiletries to Community Care Stations if possible; otherwise, items will be provided. The showers and resources at the Community Care Stations are ADA compliant and accessible for disabled residents.
Community Care Stations are located at the following locations and are open from 7am to 7pm daily:
- AC Reynolds High School * Free medical care available – 1 Rocket Drive, Asheville, NC
- At Home Store (Parking Lot) – 980 Brevard Rd., Asheville, NC
- Big Lots/Innsbrook Mall – 85 Tunnel Road, Asheville, NC
- Buncombe County Sports Park * Free medical care available – 58 Apac Dr., Asheville, NC
- Bethel United Methodist – 1050 Riceville Road, Asheville, NC
- AC Reynolds Middle School – 2 Rocket Dr., Asheville, NC
- Ingles – 2319 US Hwy 70, Swannanoa, NC
- Owen Pool – 117 Stone Dr., Swannanoa, NC
- Morgan Hill Baptist Church – 594 Barnardsville Highway, Weaverville, NC
Also located at AC Reynolds High School, Novant Health will have a community care cruiser on-site available daily at this location. They will offer urgent care services, including connections to obstetric and pediatric care, as well as a mobile pharmacy. ADA-compliant showers are also accessible at this location in the Red Cross section. These medical resources will be available to all patients at no cost.
RSAA’s Warm Hearts Initiative will be donating 150 Mr. Heater Portable Buddy Heaters next week to help individuals in Buncombe County who lack adequate heating. Priority will be given to those with no heat or inadequate heating, with a limit of one heater per person (unhoused) or household. For those unable to pick up a heater, they can arrange delivery. To register visit: www.rsaasheville.org/helene-relief, or go directly to lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/BFNyOFW/heater.
Updates from the City of Asheville on water, and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
If you are a City of Asheville water customer, you are under a boil water notice. This water is not safe to drink or otherwise consume from the tap unless it is vigorously boiled for at least one minute. If bottled water or water from an alternate source is available, it is recommended that be used for consumption.
Here’s what you can safely use water for:
– Laundry
– Showering (do not swallow water)
– Handwashing (except before food prep)
– Washing dishes (water temp must be 170°F or higher)
– Flushing toilets
Before Water Returns:
– Flip off the breaker to your water heater.
– Turn off water to your water heater.
– Turn off hot water under your sinks.
– Remove aerator (it typically unscrews) on faucets.
– Turn off the ice maker.
– Turn off water to your whole house filter, if you have one.
After Water Returns:
– Flush your home plumbing by running the bathtub’s cold water faucet.
– Your water heater may be turned back on once your home’s plumbing has been flushed.
– It’s safe to flush your toilet after completing steps 1 and 2.
– Leave your ice maker turned off.
For questions, please call customer service at 828-251-1122.
The entire North Carolina section of the Blue Ridge Parkway remains closed due to portions of the roadway that have been compromised by flooding and tree hazards. Crews continue with emergency stabilization and damage assessments following Hurricane Helene. Updates will be posted on the Blue Ridge Parkway website at www.nps.gov/blri.
For safety reasons, park managers are asking the public to please be patient and respect the closures. Many areas remain unsafe due to visible and hidden hazards, such as weakened and missing portions of the roadway; standing dead and downed trees; unstable slopes; and crews and heavy equipment operating on the road. Unauthorized use also hinders recovery operations of work crews.
