Western NC’s largest DMV driver’s license office reopens three weeks after Helene
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Hurricane Helene Aftermath
Hurricane Helene swept across the Southeast, causing major flooding and destruction throughout North Carolina. Here is ongoing coverage from The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer about Hurricane Helene and the aftermath, particularly in Western North Carolina.
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Western North Carolina’s largest state driver’s license office reopened Monday for the first time since the remnants of Hurricane Helene blew through the region over three weeks ago.
The DMV office on Patton Avenue in Asheville closed after the storm because of a lack of water. Helene badly damaged the city’s utilities, leaving tens of thousands of customers without water for drinking, bathing, cooking and flushing.
The DMV office has water service again, though the city’s boil advisory means customers and employees can’t drink it, said agency spokesman Marty Homan.
“But you can flush toilets and wash your hands,” Homan said, which is good enough to reopen the office.
Two DMV driver’s license offices remain closed because of the storm. The Burnsville office in Yancey County still does not have water, Homan said, while the part-time office in Spruce Pine in Mitchell County needs new flooring before it can reopen.
On Sept. 27, the day Helene moved through Western North Carolina, 25 driver’s license offices and 28 privately-run license plate agencies were closed. Only one of the license plate agency offices, in Marshall, remains closed.
The Asheville DMV office in Buncombe County is by far the largest and busiest in the region and was the only one operating in the county of 275,000 residents. A smaller express office on Tunnel Road across town was already closed while the building’s roof and HVAC system are replaced.
The DMV has asked for authorization to waive late fees and provide no-cost duplicate licenses and IDs for people who lost theirs in the storm, Homan said. The agency is waiting for Gov. Roy Cooper to issue an executive order to make that possible, he said.
This story was originally published October 22, 2024 at 9:46 AM with the headline "Western NC’s largest DMV driver’s license office reopens three weeks after Helene."
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