A typical October in the High Country brings the arrival of vibrant leaves, bathing the area in rich colors of red, yellow and orange. With the foliage’s arrival comes the equally vibrant sea of red brake lights dotting the roads up and down Boone.

However, the beginning of this October brought unprecedented damage and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene — no more was the sea of cars dotting the roads. Instead, seas of floodwater poured over the High Country.

Hurricane Helene’s impact halted Boone’s tourist season, affecting the local economy and many small businesses.

Among the reasons visitors come to the High Country is Peak Week, the time when the fall leaf colors are the most vibrant. Tourists drive along the parkway, visit downtown Boone and attend seasonal events such as corn mazes, pumpkin patches and the Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk.

Watauga County’s Peak Week season typically brings the greatest number of visitors by month. According to Explore Boone’s analytics, over 78,000 nightly visitors stayed in the area during October of last year.

Emily Neeley, director of marketing and PR for Explore Boone, said two of the main reasons tourists flock to Boone are for outdoor recreation and wellness. Other factors that draw guests to the area include its art and culture and music scene, as well as easy access to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which closed due to damage sustained during the hurricane.

She said the Peak Week season has major impacts on the tourism industry and economics of Watauga County.

“That is definitely our busiest season of the year,” Neeley said. “So we are definitely seeing our largest influx of visitors in the month of October.”

Neeley said the “huge economic driver” of tourism influenced the county’s economy by saving taxpayers an average of $649.11 last year, with visitors spending a total of $517 million.

Neeley said with the influx of visitors come economic gains. In addition to saving taxpayer dollars, over 3,000 people are employed by the tourism industry in Watauga County. 

At this time, Neeley said it’s too soon to assess the economic impact the storm had on Boone and the surrounding areas. She said one way to support the economy is frequenting local businesses during the holiday season, such as choosing to purchase a real Christmas tree from local tree farms in the High Country.

“As a community that relies heavily on the tourist economy, our locally-owned and operated businesses and attractions need visitor support now more than ever,” she wrote in an email. 

Neeley said that while many businesses are starting to open their doors to visitors nearly two months after Hurricane Helene, its impact forced them to temporarily close, with some businesses such as hotels offering emergency shelter.

“Hurricane Helene hit the Boone area just before one of the most popular months for visitation, severely impacting Watauga County’s ability to immediately host visitors who look forward to viewing the High Country’s beautiful fall leaf season,” Neeley wrote.

She said Explore Boone encourages visitors to plan ahead, prioritize safety and check road conditions ahead of time on drivenc.gov. Those who wish to support the local economy can do so by visiting the organization’s Voluntourism page. She also expressed her appreciation for those supporting the area during and after the storm.

“On behalf of the Watauga County TDA, I’d like to extend our sincerest gratitude to all those, residents and visitors, who have donated their time and money to support our cherished community during these challenging times – thank you!” Neeley wrote.

Howard Neufeld, a professor of plant ecophysiology at App State, tracks the progression of fall leaves leading up to Peak Week, earning him the title as the Fall Color Guy.

Neufeld posts about the leaves and their conditions on his website through App State’s Department of Biology, which he has been running since 2008.

He said the timing of Peak Week depends on several factors, such as climate, temperature and elevation, and the progression of the leaves can speed up or slow down. As of late September, his prediction for Peak Week season in Watauga County was from Oct. 10-20, which was less than two weeks after the hurricane hit.

Post-Peak Week, Neufeld posted about the condition of the fall colors on his Fall Color Guy Facebook page.

“This year’s fall leaf color display is, in my opinion, the worst in the ~20 years that I have been doing monitoring. At Grandfather Mt, which usually has great color at this time, even in bad years, nearly all the leaves were gone,” he wrote.

With the main focus of Boone during Peak Week shifting from tourism to rescue and recovery efforts, the economy will be significantly impacted. The North Carolina Forest Service estimates that 822,000 acres of timberland were damaged, with an estimated $214 million loss.

Sheri Moretz, a storyteller and copy editor with Mast General Store, said Hurricane Helene affected the employee-owned chain of stores.

According to its website, Mast General was originally a retail store established in the 1850s, but now has several locations, many of which are located in Western North Carolina and attract tourists to the area.

Moretz said October is one of the busiest months for the stores, comparable to the holiday season rush. She said a report from Mast General estimates a 24-83% decrease in sales for North Carolina stores compared to last October.

Moretz said the stores have become a staple in the communities they are located in, encouraging visitors to support local businesses in addition to Mast General.

“In most every case, we’re an anchor in every town that we’re in,” she said. “So, the success of our neighbors is dependent a lot on how successful we are in bringing foot traffic downtown.”

Due to the hurricane, the Mast General Annex Store in Valle Crucis remained closed until Oct. 12, and the Mast General Store in Asheville remained closed until Oct. 18 and reopened under shortened hours. According to its website, the Annex location sustained “some damage” from high waters and mud, with staff members taking precautionary measures prior to the storm to minimize the loss of inventory. 

Moretz said the company’s priority is advertising stores are open and encouraging customers to be mindful during their visit to avoid contributing to disaster tourism by sticking to “safe” areas.

“The people who have lost their homes or livelihood, they’re dealing with enough, they don’t need to be having to deal with people coming by and looking at them as they’re trying to put their lives back together,” Moretz said.