NORTH CAROLINA, USA — Your drive up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the leaves change colors will have to wait.
The National Park Service said the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia is expected to remain closed as crews continue to assess damage from Helene.
The National Park Service has deployed its Eastern Incident Management Team to help Blue Ridge Parkway staff with emergency needs and damage assessments. There are 214 National Park Service employees from 32 states and the District of Columbia helping Blue Ridge Parkway staff with recovery efforts, as of Saturday morning.
Assessment teams with the National Park Service are still completing their initial inspections of the parkway. Significant damage is reported to have occurred along the parkway especially from milepost 280 to milepost 469, according to the assessment teams.
The assessment teams will use data collected from their inspections to determine the full extent of the damage done to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The National Park Service said there is no projected reopening date for any section of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.
Damage assessments and the clearing of debris from roads are almost completed in Virginia, according to the National Park Service. A phased reopening of the parkway in Virginia may be happening in the upcoming days to weeks.
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