Washington Post update on Buncombe County.
Standing alone at a railing above the river, Israel Mayfield looked out over his hometown, marveling at how unrecognizable it was days after Helene.
He pointed in the distance to a well-known music spot, the Guitar Bar, its structure nearly demolished even as the river still ran through it.
He recalled how there was a memorial service there once, after his father died.
“That’s a memory for me,” said Mayfield, 47.
Looking around, he spoke of the business owners he knew and wondered if they had flood insurance, if some of them would ever recover, if this creative and beloved corner of the mountains would emerge with its unique spirit and its economy intact.
“There’s just no telling,” he said, though he was holding out hope that the people who gave life to this neighborhood before might soon return.
“There’s a glass blower over there,” he said, “and there’s an iron worker down this way. And there’s a heck of a barbecue joint right over there.”
Gift link:
https://wapo.st/4dqsQSZ
that was hard to see at night even with electricity. 
