The village of Chimney Rock, North Carolina, became the subject of numerous rumors, which local officials said were false, after Hurricane Helen struck. The rumors started circulating online after Helene devastated the Rutherford County mountain town in late September 2024. As of Oct. 4, the storm's death toll across several states stood at over 200 known persons.
Chimney Rock Mayor Peter O'Leary wrote in a public letter, "Numerous residents, homeowners and businesses have suffered catastrophic losses, and our community faces a long and difficult road to recovery."
Among the rumors shared by online users were claims that U.S. government officials organized a town meeting with Chimney Rock's residents, where the officials told the residents they planned to bulldoze the town — including any bodies left behind — and that the federal government had seized their land and now owned all of it. The rumors further claimed officials left bodies in the streets and had no plans to remove them, as well as told stories of tires found slashed and criminals robbing people at gunpoint.
For example, on Oct. 2, a user on X promoted all of these rumors in a single post that received over 3 million views (archived). The user cited as the source a message received on their website from another person. The sender of the message claimed to know a friend who owns a vacation rental in Chimney Rock. The X user did not reveal the sender's identity or the identity of the supposed friend.
Following that X user's post, other users shared the same rumors. Notably, one TikTok user whose video (archived) that repeated the rumors received over 1 million views began her video by saying, "Hey guys. I don't know how true this is."
In this story, we have broken down these rumors with information provided by firsthand accounts from local officials on the ground in Chimney Rock. First, we've provided biographical details about our sources.
Firsthand Accounts from Local Officials
In our research to find the answers behind these online rumors, we spoke with Kerri Giles, who said she manages the county's transit system and has worked for Rutherford County for 22 years. Following Helene, she now holds the role of public information officer for the local emergency operations center, including driving evacuation shuttles herself — along with a county commissioner and her husband — after not being able to make contact with other drivers.
By phone, Giles told us that every one of the aforementioned rumors was false.
We also talked by phone with Chimney Rock village administrator Stephen G. Duncan, who provided more context about the rumors of the bulldozing of the town, as well as details regarding the town meeting.
Town Meeting and Government Seizing Property?
The rumors of a Chimney Rock town meeting reflected that of a real meeting. Giles told us she was present, and that it occurred on Oct. 2 around 12:30 p.m. EDT. Duncan also said he attended the meeting, confirming it took place in a room at a local fire department.
Giles told us, "I started getting people emailing [and] asking questions about a secret meeting that was held supposedly in Lake Lure [and] Chimney Rock on Oct. 2. What actually happened on Oct. 2 was a meeting that I was present at with state and federal legislative offices and actual representatives wanting to know how they can best serve and help get state [and] federal funding into Chimney Rock [to] help them rebuild."
Duncan said much the same, telling us the people attending the meeting included local leaders and residents and also North Carolina U.S. Rep. Jake Johnson, as well as the state's House Speaker Tim Moore and Sen. Tim Moffitt, among others.
Giles said, "We, most of us, knew each other in the room, literally, boots and blue jeans," adding that "the main point of conversation was about infrastructure rebuilding." She continued, "Especially in Chimney Rock, many of the store owners who have lost their businesses also lived above their storefronts. So, it's not just their business. It's their home and their entire livelihood. And that's what they were sharing with us as to what they saw as needs."
As for the rumors of the government seizing property, the Facebook page for Rutherford County's Emergency Management division posted a news release addressing "false reports regarding Chimney Rock recovery efforts" (archived). The letter stated, "There have been no discussions or actions taken by the federal, state or local government related to property seizure in Chimney Rock or any other part of Rutherford County."
Plans to Bulldoze Chimney Rock?
The user on X who appeared to start the rumor published that government officials said during the meeting that "the town was being bulldozed, bodies and all."
Giles and Duncan told us this was not true. The news release posted on the emergency management division's Facebook page also specified, "Claims of 'bodies everywhere' are completely unfounded."
Duncan told us, "The only bulldozing that we have had is they had to clean three to five feet of sand and dirt off of our main street here in town, and get it all cleaned up so that we could bring in heavier equipment, so that they can literally use clamps and stuff to remove huge trees that got washed in and the ground that was taken out and come up through here. Right now, our main street is reopened." (Photos hosted on the Getty Images image-licensing website — including the picture at the top of this article — appeared to show exactly what Duncan described, with people operating heavy equipment to clear large trees.)
Speaking of streets, Duncan detailed that many of the recovery efforts were already underway to open roads, including some access to U.S. Highway 74, which runs through the town. He also provided details regarding plans for construction companies to come in from other towns to assist, as well as structural engineers to assess damage.
Bodies Left in the Streets?
Another rumor offered in the popular X post claimed, "They don't wanna identify the bodies and they're just leaving them to rot in the streets."
Giles addressed that claim as well, telling us, "People [are] saying that there are dead people floating in the river, the lake, washing up on the shores. As of this morning, we have a total of three deceased in our county. [The] likelihood is we may discover more as we go through debris, which is not something anybody wants to talk about but we are not overwhelmed with the deceased in our community at this time."
She continued, "I will say, I'm hoping one of the reasons for that may be, if it holds true, is we changed out our entire siren alert system around Lake Lure. Finished it two weeks before the storm hit [with] twice the size poles. Poles are now steel, not wooden, have more specific messaging, and we're hoping that that will have resulted in more people getting to higher ground, but we don't know that yet."
Slashed Tires and Robberies at Gunpoint?
The post on X further claimed, "Multiple truckers have reported having tires slashed. Our friends from Chimney Rock said they have heard multiple stories of people being robbed at gunpoint making supply runs."
Giles confirmed she knew of no reports of any slashed tires or robberies of the described nature.
Red Cross, FEMA and TEMA Confiscating Donations?
In a separate but related rumor, some online users claimed on Facebook and X (archived) that the American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) were confiscating donations of supplies.
The American Red Cross denied such claims in a post on Facebook (archived), saying in part, "We are not confiscating, removing or discarding donated items. We focus on providing shelter, food, and relief after disasters."
FEMA published on its website the claims were "false" (archived). TEMA also posted the rumor was "false" on its own Facebook page (archived).
Battling Misinformation and Raising the American Flag
In our conversation with Giles, we asked about her personal response to the false rumors about Chimney Rock. She answered, "It is heartbreaking when you are on the front lines with the sole mission of trying to save people, and people want to sit and throw darts at you. Your front-line people are some of the best humans you'll ever meet. And it is hard to process that much, and it's a waste of resources."
"I was driving an evacuation shuttle vehicle on Saturday, and it's all hands on deck. And when you have to deal with rumors, it just takes resources away from the life-saving work we're trying to do."
Duncan also told us the story of raising the American flag on the top of the famous rock at Chimney Rock State Park, following the devastating storm. He said he witnessed people crying at the sight of the symbol of hope.
He told us, "I am standing here looking at the most magnificent scene as people climbed and hiked up to the Chimney Rock. And I'm watching the American flag wave on top. The rock is not tilted, fallen, rolled. It is right above us with the American flag." He continued, "The rock is stable, the flag is waving, the roads are being opened and we're trying to get some of our utilities up to help the people that are here."