Hurricane Update

Hurricane Helene in the Heart of a Wooded Mountain

We imagine you have all heard the news that western North Carolina experienced a very powerful hurricane that left quite a lot of damage in its wake. Because this area has many rivers and creeks and communities built near them, the rising waters affected a large number of towns and cities.

Many of you have reached out to find out how Rockbrook fared in this massive storm, and so we wanted to take a moment to give you an update. Overall, we feel very lucky that the damage was not as extensive as many places in our region. The most obvious damage has been to our roads and underground pipes and culverts. With the steep terrain of Rockbrook, and the two waterfalls, there were incredible amounts of water rushing down the hill and the driveway, digging up pipes and finding new ways of entering and exiting the lake. In a few places, the soil was so waterlogged that some mudslides occurred.

With so many trees on our property, there were a number that fell. Two buildings were affected by fallen trees – one of our newly renovated cabins and the red cottage at the base of our service driveway both ended up with trees on them. The stream that runs under the dining hall was so full that mud ended up inside the kitchen and dining room. The stream then continued under the dining hall, splashing up and over the bridge in front of Goodwill.

Down at the barn, all of the horses were moved up to the highest part of our riding center, doubling up in the stalls and in the arena. The water filled up the lower ring and reached the outer stalls in the lower barn and also covering the bridge to the pastures. Everyone and all of the animals at Rockbrook are safe. While we still don’t have power or water, the cleanup effort has begun, and we are assessing the repairs needed to all of the buildings.

As many of you have asked how you can help, we are including the link to donate to our Building Fund, and to help with relief for our wider area, please consider the World Central Kitchen. We are so grateful for our Rockbrook family, and we are happy to report that all of the damage will be fixable by the time our 2025 season begins. Please be patient as our communications from camp have been slowed by this event. We can’t wait to see you all again!