Posted on February 11, 2025
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Helene clean-up is going into high gear on the waterways in Western North Carolina.
Starting Saturday, AshBritt, the US Army Corp of Engineers contracted company, will be in the French Broad River doing a clean-up of the water.
On Friday, Feb. 7, the Corp held a news conference and showed the machinery it’s using to clear waterways in front of more than 20 media outlets.
“They’re pulling the debris out of the water and stacking it here,” said Col. Brad Morgan, USACE. “We also have a drone contractor that’s working for us to help us see what additional hazardous debris are within the waterways.”
Morgan is in charge of Helene clean-up. He specified the contract with AshBritt. The company is cleaning up rivers and streams of debris that’s largely trees.
On Friday, Feb. 7, the Corp held a news conference and showed the machinery it’s using to clear WNC waterways.
However, AshBritt won’t be covering the areas along the riverbanks where thousands of trees have fallen.
Morgan said the WNC area will have 10 crews working this weekend with another 25 coming in next week.
New deadlines are:
- June 1 for all waterway clean-ups.
- June 30 for private property debris removal.
- April 1 for any remaining debris-covered roads to get cleared.
News 13 recently profiled a Fairview homeowner who signed up for private property debris removal but has been waiting months for a crew to show up.
