ASHEVILLE, N.C. — One year after Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, breweries along Asheville’s French Broad River are slowly pouring new life back into a community that lost millions of dollars in flood damage.
Hi-Wire Brewery has reopened its doors after months of cleanup from the September 2024 storm that brought catastrophic flooding to the popular River Arts District. The brewery’s beer garden, now bustling with customers, was submerged in the middle of what became a temporary lake during the hurricane.
“It took your breath away the first time you saw the water and the extent of the damage it did,” Christine Ferguson, Hi-Wire’s director of retail operations, said…