North Carolina Prisons Reopen and Improve After Hurricane Helene’s Disruption
RALEIGH, N.C. — When Hurricane Helene swept through western North Carolina in September 2024, its destruction went beyond homes, businesses, and roads — it forced the shutdown of five state correctional facilities, displacing thousands of inmates. Nearly a year later, the affected prisons have reopened with upgrades aimed at preventing similar disruptions in the future, according to Spectrum Local News.
Massive Prison Disruptions
The closures were prompted not by structural damage, but by widespread utility failures — power outages, loss of water service, and raw sewage exposure. The affected facilities included Mountain View Correctional Institution, Avery-Mitchell Correctional Institution, Craggy Correctional Center, Western Correctional Center for Women, and the Black Mountain Substance Abuse Treatment Center for Women.
In the days following the storm, the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction relocated 2,190 inmates to other facilities across the state. This mass transfer added to an already heavy intake backlog, leaving more than 500 newly sentenced individuals waiting to be admitted into the prison system.
Staggered Reopenings
Craggy Correctional, the Western Correctional Center for Women, and the Black Mountain Substance Abuse Center reopened by November 2024. Mountain View followed in January 2025, while Avery-Mitchell in Spruce Pine only reopened in July 2025 — nearly 10 months after the storm.
The delay at Avery-Mitchell was due to a prolonged water system outage, a generator fire, and staffing shortages. “We had many staff members in the west at those prisons that had severe damage or complete loss of their homes,” said Keith Acree, communications director for the Department of Adult Correction. “Some lost family members in the storm, and others are still not able to come back to work.”
Adjusted Operations and Improvements
Even after reopening, some facilities are operating at reduced inmate populations to match available staffing levels. Mountain View now houses 896 inmates, Avery-Mitchell 217, and Craggy 265.
The crisis spurred the department to prioritize resiliency upgrades — improving water, sewer, and power redundancies, and replacing aging roofs more capable of withstanding storms. Additionally, the state is in the second year of a project to install air conditioning in all prison living spaces. Currently, 79% of inmate beds are in air-conditioned areas, with full coverage expected by 2026.
Do you think North Carolina’s prisons are prepared for the next major storm? Share your thoughts at SaludaStandard-Sentinel.com.
