Explainer: What Emergency Powers Meant for Access to Chimney Rock after Helene

For months after Hurricane Helene devastated Chimney Rock Village, one of the most common questions from residents, business owners and visitors was simple: Why can't I go there?

The answer lies in North Carolina's emergency management laws, which give local governments broad authority to temporarily restrict movement during a declared state of emergency. Rutherford County officially lifted its Hurricane Helene state of emergency on July 10, 2025, ending all local emergency restrictions and orders that had been in place since September 25, 2024, for 288 days. 

Nearly 22 months after Helene, those emergency powers remain part of an ongoing discussion about the balance between public safety, private property rights and public access to taxpayer-funded infrastructure.

The town and most businesses reopened last year, but now travelers may encounter road construction delays as recovery moves into a new phase.

Why roads and access were restricted

Hurricane Helene damaged roads, bridges, utilities and buildings throughout the Hickory Nut Gorge. Search-and-rescue operations, debris removal, utility restoration and reconstruction required officials to limit access to portions of the village and surrounding areas.

During the response, checkpoints, road closures and controlled access became common. In many instances, only residents, business owners, contractors, utility workers, emergency responders and others with authorization were allowed into restricted areas.

Those restrictions changed over time as infrastructure was repaired and conditions improved. Town council voted to remove the checkpoint in May 2025.

What North Carolina law allows

Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 166A-19.31, municipalities and counties may adopt emergency ordinances allowing officials to impose temporary restrictions after declaring a local state of emergency.

Among the powers authorized by the law are:

• Closing roads, bridges and other public travel routes.

• Controlling who may enter or leave an emergency area.

• Restricting movement within an emergency area.

• Ordering voluntary or mandatory evacuations.

• Imposing curfews.

• Restricting access to businesses and public gathering places when necessary to protect lives or property.

The law provides that those restrictions expire when the emergency ends or when officials lift them sooner.

What does the Constitution say?

Although many Americans refer to "freedom of movement," those words do not appear in the U.S. Constitution.

Instead, the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized a constitutional right to travel, while also acknowledging that governments may impose temporary restrictions when authorized by law and reasonably necessary to protect public safety.

That means emergency road closures are not automatically unconstitutional. Whether a particular restriction is lawful depends on the specific facts, the government's legal authority and whether the action is reasonably related to the emergency.

Why it matters to taxpayers

The recovery in Chimney Rock highlighted the difficult balance local governments face after a major disaster.

Public roads are funded and maintained with taxpayer dollars, yet state law allows local officials to temporarily restrict access when emergency conditions exist.

For residents, business owners and visitors, those decisions affected when people could return to homes, reopen businesses, inspect damage or simply travel through the village.

For local governments, the challenge was balancing public safety with restoring public access as quickly as conditions allowed.

Looking ahead

As western North Carolina continues recovering from Hurricane Helene, the experience in Chimney Rock serves as a case study in how emergency powers operate in practice.

Future disasters will likely require similar decisions about evacuations, road closures, and restricted access. Understanding what North Carolina law authorizes—and the constitutional limits on those powers—may help residents better understand how those decisions are made and why they are sometimes necessary during the earliest stages of disaster response.

Construction is underway in Chimney Rock to rebuild the road by the NC Department of Transportation, with expected completion in 2029 for $250 million.