Neighbors and businesses in Jefferson County are still recovering months after Helene ripped through parts of East Tennessee.
One place Tennessee Valley Authority officials are working on is Douglas Lake. They’ve been cleaning out the lake for months.
Neighbors there remember what it all looked like right after the storm.
Residents says they’ve seen anything from floating trees, a washing machine, dryer, refrigerators, full-size sheds floating down the lake.
Businesses had to close early last year because of the storm. This includes Smoky Mountain H20 Sports who say the lake came up really fast and they lost about five or six weeks of their season last year.
TVA has worked for months now to remove wood and debris from the lake and shoreline. They have used teams of barges to excavate areas, remove and transport wood to a specific location and then they’ll burn it.
The Jefferson County tourism toured the cleanup on Douglas Lake and say they’re confident they’ll get back to normal operations soon.
TVA officials say the goal is to have the entire debris removal project done by June.
