Flooding destroyed a popular campground close to a Pigeon River bend, leaving several campers missing, a report said.
Many homes and buildings sustained significant damage by Tropical Storm Fred’s remnants.
“It’s gone. Sherrie McArthur who runs Laurel Bank Campground said, “There’s nothing there. I used to have 100 sites and all of them are gone. There were campers there, but most of them have disappeared. The rest of the remains are crushed and squashed. Some went completely down the river, and I don’t know where else they will end up.”
The campground was inundated by the raging Pigeon River on Aug. 17. It is located a two-tenths mile from Cruso Fire and Rescue.
McArthur stated that the property was in her family since childhood. Her family used to raise hogs and keep horses on the property. Her father, Harold Crawford, built the campground 51 years ago, according to a Gofundme page set up to help with the financial loss.
People are missing upstream from her campground and she along with emergency officials are still searching with cadaver dogs, the campground’s owner said.
According to another person mentioned in the report, they found one person and they are still searching for three others who they know were swept away by the flood.
Allison Richmond, Haywood County Emergency Management’s public information officer, stated just before 6 p.m. on Aug. 19, that she had no knowledge of any fatalities at Laurel Bank Campground.
Richmond stated, “There are a lot of campgrounds up this way that are in the exact same boat.”
Two people were confirmed dead as of the late afternoon on Aug. 19. 17 others remain missing, according to county officials.
According to the National Weather Service, the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred dropped between 4-11 inches and the Southern end Haywood County received the highest rainfall of 11.2 inches.
