Haywood County revises curfew
Slowly but surely, things are returning to normal for those unaffected by Hurricane Helene in Haywood County.
Haywood County government photo
Effective 5 p.m. today, Haywood County will still be under a state of emergency; however, the countywide curfew will be extended later into the evening.
The original state of emergency declaration was effective at 5 p.m. on Sept. 25, three days before Hurricane Helene lashed Haywood County with rain, wind and widespread flooding. Although no curfew was mentioned in that declaration, county public safety officials advertised it as being 9 p.m.
The superseding declaration prohibits all but essential travel from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. each night.
Mayors from all four incorporated Haywood County municipalities signed the declaration, which applies to all four of those municipalities.
Reducing the number of hours subject to the curfew is expected to aid the resumption of normal commercial activity and give a boost to hard-hit local businesses, especially bars and restaurants, which had been offering seating only until 7:30 or 8 p.m. in order to allow patrons and employees to finish in time to return to their homes in compliance with the curfew.
Yesterday, Waynesville’s Downtown Advisory Committee took a number of steps to ensure people know that some parts of Haywood County are indeed open for business. The Apple Harvest Festival will proceed on Oct. 19 — albeit scaled back a bit — and drivenc.gov today removed the “WNC is closed” message from its website.
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Haywood County’s director of emergency management can still restrict or deny access to “any area, location or street where such a restriction is necessary in order to help overcome this emergency or to prevent the emergency from worsening,” according to the superseding state of emergency declaration. Such direction may be indicated by barricades, posted notices or other orders to anyone in the area.
Some roads and bridges remain compromised or closed altogether, so check with local authorities before planning a trip. Double-check hotel reservations, as isolated businesses may still be experiencing storm-related complications.
The superseding state of emergency declaration will remain in effect until rescinded by the Haywood County Board of Commissioners.
