Home Care In Alamance, NC

It is a formal request for help. Once it's made, other counties, cities, the state, and FEMA can send crews & resources needed quickly.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — With the flooding and water issues, Alamance County declared a State of Emergency. That sounds like something is really wrong, and that's true; the declaration is a formal request for help.

"State of emergency has a ominous tone to it, but at its core, it is just sort of an administrative tool it opens up some other resources both within their mutual aid departments where a neighboring community could come in and help, but also opens up some potential for state and federal aid as well," said Scott Muthersbaugh, Guilford County Emergency Services, PIO.

For example, the State of Emergency allowed for Guilford 911 dispatch to take some of the emergency calls for Alamance and Orange Counties. The calls for help from residents were overwhelming.

Guilford County also helped coordinate getting trucks and equipment on scene to help clear roads.

"So we all have plans and things written out in terms of when generally you do this, but each state of emergency is different based on the reality of what's happening at the time," said Muthersbaugh.

What will the next request for help be? It all depends on how the situation changes.

"The longest state of emergency we ever had was COVID, so it can be for natural disasters, it can be for public health emergencies, it could be for civil unrest. It has a lot of flexibility, but really, at its core, it is an administrative tool to allow these other bigger things to happen," said Muthersbaugh.

This formal request for help also opens the door to money. Crews and resources could be paid not by the requesting county, but possibly by the state or FEMA.

The third storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season — and the first to make landfall in the US — Tropical Storm Chantal caused significant damage in North Carolina over the holiday weekend, leaving lasting remnants.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has closed 120 roads due to flooding through Alamance County, including I-40/85. On Tuesday Governor Josh Stein is scheduled to visit the area to survey damage. Alamance, Person, Moore, and Orange counties have been declared states of emergency.

Chantal made landfall on the East Coast Sunday morning. Although it was soon downgraded to a tropical depression, the storm remained powerful. Some parts of Alamance, Orange, and Chatham counties received more than 10 inches of rain, resulting in major flooding and widespread power outages. By Monday morning, more than 23,000 people were without electricity.

The counties also faced multiple tornado warnings Sunday night, with two tornado sightings reported.

Rivers Reach Record Levels

Various bodies of water rose to historic levels across the peidmont, causing extensive damage. In Alamance County, the Haw River crested at 32.5 feet, the second-highest level on record — just below Hurricane Fran in 1996, which crested at 32.83 feet.

The Eno River in Orange County reached a new record height, cresting at 25.63 feet.

In Mebane, residents were warned of a voluntary evacuation due to a possible dam failure at Lake Michael. The dam remained intact, but residents remain on alert in case more rain arrives in the coming days.

Mebane is under a zero-level water usage alert because of flooding at its water treatment plant. Several nearby communities are also under a boil water advisory due to damage to a main water line. As of Monday evening, those alerts remain in effect.

Saxapahaw Flooded, Power Cut

In Saxapahaw, also in Alamance County, a main bridge was completely covered by the overflowing Haw River. Although the water has now receded slightly, flooding impacted a couple of apartment buildings and a building housing multiple businesses. Bottom floors were inundated, and some cars were almost completely submerged at the peak of the flooding.

Most of the village remains without power, with some residents estimating it could take at least a week for service to be restored.

One building in the village shows watermarks from the two worst floods in its history. The peak of this flood was well over the mark from Hurricane Fran in 1996, and just below the highest recorded mark from a major flood in 1945.

A Saxapahaw resident and owner of one of the buildings described it as a “hundred-year flood,” stating that he had been in the area since the 1960s and had never seen anything like it.

Chapel Hill and Durham Also Impacted

Chapel Hill and Durham were hit hard by Chantal, with major flooding reported in multiple areas. Officials reported more than 80 completed rescues in the two cities, particularly in areas around the Eno River.

Numerous restaurants and businesses were flooded overnight, sustaining extensive damage inside.

Less than a year after Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, recovery and cleanup have begun from another major storm — this time, just a tropical storm.

Officials say that this week serves as a reminder that no matter the initial severity of the storm, flooding often follows in the days after a storm comes ashore.

Developer Shawn Cummings is planning to develop an upscale tiny home community with hundreds of lots at Hidden Lake Campgrounds south of Graham along N.C. Highway 54.

While Cummings has largely focused on developing subdivisions with traditional single-family homes in and around Alamance County over the past 10 years, he’s embracing the tiny home trend as part of a broader goal of increasing the housing supply, and “attainable housing” in particular, in Alamance County.

“We’re going to make it beautiful – lots of amenities,” Cummings said in a recent interview with The Alamance News.

The tiny home trend is “a big market, especially with [the lack of] affordability” in the traditional, single-family housing market, Cummings told the newspaper last week. “It could be a small solution to a problem,” he said.

The tiny home community at Hidden Lake will be developed in partnership with J.M. Holt & Associates of Graham.

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The development partners purchased the 147-acre Hidden Lake Campgrounds property this spring from Jean C. (“Priscilla”) Majors and Richard Kelley through two separate transactions.

For his part, Cummings purchased a 77-acre portion of the campground property off N.C. Highway 54 for $300,000 this spring.

His partner on the project, J.M. Holt & Associates, purchased two other parcels that are contiguous to the 77-acre tract and span just under 70 acres for $2.45 million in late March of this year, based on documents that have been filed with Alamance County’s Register of Deeds to consummate the purchase.

Alamance County tax records list the latest, total assessed value for the three parcels purchased by Cummings and J.M. Holt & Associates at $1.2 million.

In the interview, Cummings laid out his vision for a “tiny home on wheels” community that initially would have between 200 and 300 units. “Technically, it’s going to be an RV park,” he said, meaning that the tiny home community would be subject to Alamance County’s regulations for developments with recreational vehicles, campers, and other motorized dwellings.

The Hidden Lake property currently includes a covered canopy at the end of a half-mile drive that leads to the lake and campground, as well as a warehouse, garage, and several other structures, according to county tax records.

Elevated amenities

The tiny home community at Hidden Lake could eventually have upwards of 500 lots with amenities such as: pickleball courts and other athletic courts; a pool; a community garden and a lighted garden; an outdoor recreation area; a gym with a climbing wall; dog parks; and fire pits, based on materials that an Alamance News reporter was allowed to review while sitting in on a weekly projects meeting with Cummings and his development team on Monday morning.

Meanwhile, Cummings and other members of the development team at VennTerra have visited a number of similar communities in North Carolina to get an idea of some of the elements that they might want to incorporate into the tiny home community planned off N.C. Highway 54.

Early last month, the group toured a houseboat site and Eden Village in Wilmington, a tiny home community about five minutes from the Riverwalk in downtown Wilmington. They also toured another tiny home development, named In the Pines RV & Cabin Village, in Brunswick County, and the Oceans RV Resort in Holly Ridge (near Surf City in Onslow County), based on the materials that the newspaper reviewed at Cummings’ company headquarters in Graham.

The tiny home community at Hidden Lake could be modeled on Cranmore Meadows, a tiny home development also off N.C. Highway 54 at 3010 Milky Way, which is about three miles from Hidden Lake Campgrounds but has a Haw River address.

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The preliminary plans for the tiny home community at Hidden Lake include “sub-community sections” that would provide opportunities to engage with others and “aesthetic amenities” to create a relaxing yet active community, based on the project materials that the newspaper reviewed at VennTerra’s headquarters.

For example, the tiny home community at Hidden Lake could feature a dedicated area for “glamping” to capitalize on the “luxury” camping trend that blends the amenities of hotel accommodations with the natural environment.

The site would need extensive cleanup, to include “stripping” an existing warehouse and repainting its roof; removal of debris and abandoned campers; and repairs to holes that pockmark the gravel drive that leads from N.C. 54 into the current campground area, based on the project materials the newspaper reviewed.

One member of Cummings’ development team pointed out during their discussion Monday morning that flooding from remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal earlier this month had “scoured” some of the asphalt surfaces on the property.

The developers have hired Delta Contracting in Haw River to do the milling to prepare the half-mile gravel driveway to be paved and have requested bids from three area firms for the paving work.

Completion of preliminary design targeted for the end of 2025

The next phase of the project calls for hiring a firm to develop a schematic design and concept plan for the tiny home community by the end of this year.

Some of the architectural firms that Cummings and his partner, J.M. Holt & Associates, are considering for the master planning phase include: Clark Nexsen of Raleigh and Charlotte; Perkins and Will of Charlotte; and Little Diversified Architectural Consulting (“Little”) in Charlotte, based on the materials that the newspaper’s reporter reviewed Monday morning. (Clark Nexsen designed the Biotechnology Center of Excellence at Alamance Community College; and Little designed the Advanced Applied Technology at ACC.)

Among the tiny home manufacturers that the developers are considering include Incredible Tiny Homes of Newport, Tennessee and Perch & Nest of Winston-Salem.

The development at Hidden Lake would be marketed as “a premier tiny home community centered around a secluded lake” and targeted to professionals who’d be commuting to jobs in Chapel Hill – UNC Hospital, for example, is an 18-mile drive down N.C. Highway 54 – and other nearby cities, based on the project materials that the newspaper reviewed.

The overall footprint for the tiny home community off N.C. Highway 54 could also be enlarged by approximately 40 acres, depending upon the outcome of ongoing conversations about a possible land swap with an adjoining property owner, Cummings told the newspaper Monday.

At the same time, the developer stressed that the adjoining property owner is “willing to continue the conversations” but hasn’t yet committed to an exchange.

Other details, such as whether the tiny homes would be for sale or rent, and possible price points, are still being determined, based on the materials that the newspaper reviewed at VennTerra’s headquarters in Graham.

On average, most tiny homes are 400 square feet or less, according to a recent analysis by the National Association of Home Builders, which showed that 26 percent of homebuilders began shrinking their floor plans in 2024 in an effort to appeal to consumers seeking smaller homes, lower prices, and little to no yard work.

BURLINGTON, N.C. — Weeks after Tropical Storm Chantal swept through parts of North Carolina, residents in Alamance County are still picking up the pieces. To support the community in its recovery, county officials have set up a dedicated call center to help those impacted by flooding, property damage and tornado damage.

What You Need To Know

At the Chantal Call Center in Burlington, the phones haven’t stopped ringing.

“How do I repair my property? How do I clean up my property from large trees that may have fallen down? Is my well safe to drink?" said Tony Lo Giudice, the Alamance County public health director.

Tracey Dixon, who helps coordinate the call center, says many callers are in need of financial support and hands-on assistance.

“Most of the calls that we’ve been receiving have been from folks needing assistance financially or help cleaning up damage and debris,” Dixon said.

Residents can either call the center directly or fill out an online form. From there, the team assesses individual needs and routes cases to the appropriate local agencies.

“If I can help them with the information that I have just to get that ball rolling for them, I will," Dixon said. "Then there's follow-up with assessments for much deeper flooding, things like that, then I pass that on to our emergency management team.”

Concerns about drinking water safety have also been high, especially for residents relying on private wells.

“Right now, Environmental Health has some testing kits, and we're actually going out in the field and testing these various wells to make sure that they aren't contaminated and the water is safe to drink," Dixon said.

For Dixon, the mission is personal.

“I do have some family and friends that have personally been affected by the flooding," Dixon said. "So it is a little tough to watch that.”

The center has also received calls related to a recent tornado in Snow Camp, extending their recovery efforts to multiple storm events.

The Chantal Call Center is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. After hours, residents can fill out the online form on its website.

Tuesday night’s storms have left them stranded once again — and out of thousands of dollars.

ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. — Last week, four neighbors in Alamance County were stranded after flooding made the only road in or out impassable.

Repairs have begun over the past few days. But now, Tuesday night’s storms have left them stranded once again — and out of thousands of dollars.

WFMY News 2's Nixon Norman spoke with one of the homeowners.

It took $15,000 to rebuild a bridge after storms swept it downstream last week, but just days later, heavy rain washed it away again.

For more than 20 years, Darrell Wagoner has used this road to get to and from his home.

"We can't fix it. We can't fix it. We don't have the means to fix it," Wagoner said.

Now, for the second time in less than 10 days, it's washed away due to heavy rain sitting over Alamance County.

"We'd already started the process of trying to rebuild our road here, and today's storm came and took it all out," Wagoner said.

What worries Wagoner most is the obstacle this presents for first responders in an emergency. He said his neighbor has suffered a stroke, and he has health issues of his own.

"Well, I've got a small heart issue. I've had to be transported. I've been out here 20 years, but I've had to be transported as well, and so, the anxiety of that, for both of us... You know, yeah, it gets a little frightening,” Wagoner said.

Moving forward, he said, there are a lot of unknowns on the journey back to normal.

"We're just trying to figure out where to go from here," Wagoner said.

Wagoner said, on the bright side, none of the houses on this road were flooded, no one's vehicle was damaged, and everyone's safe — but it's clear they still have quite a mess on their hands.