People ignoring Blue Ridge Parkway closures, vandalizing barriers: NPS

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NORTH CAROLINA (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — National Park Service officials say that weeks into the Blue Ridge Parkway closure, they’re running into people who aren’t abiding by their warnings. 

Many areas of the scenic road through the North Carolina mountains were washed out or otherwise damaged from Hurricane Helene in late September. The park service said the most-visited National Park property would be closed indefinitely on Oct. 2. 

But rangers will begin enforcing closure violations and issuing citations as necessary. This comes as they are reporting increasing instances of visitors entering closed areas and disregarding or vandalizing safety barriers.

These actions are necessary to prevent accidents and injuries to the public and our crews, NPS said. 

“National Park Service is working diligently, and areas will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so,” the agency said. “For safety reasons, park managers are asking the public to be patient and respect the closures.” 

Rangers say many areas remain unsafe due to visible and hidden hazards, such as weakened and missing portions of the roadway; standing dead and downed trees; unstable slopes; and crews and heavy equipment operating on the road. Unauthorized use also hinders recovery operations of work crews.   

The Parkway’s section through Virginia reopened over the weekend. 

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Doug Coats

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