In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Forest Service has implemented a complete public closure to 8 miles of the Nantahala River within the Nantahala Gorge, for up to two years, although the order could be rescinded much sooner.

See the official order below.

Forest Service spokeswoman Adrianne Rubiaco said the closure, which went into effect the evening of Aug. 28, is to protect the public from hazards created by an Aug. 25 landslide along U.S. 19/74 into the Nantahala River.

The Forest Service suspended all commercial rafting and kayaking operations after completing an assessment of the landslide locations on Aug. 27 and found multiple locations with hazardous debris in the river.

“Since the U.S. Forest Service began managing the Nantahala River in 1984, this is the first closure of this magnitude to be implemented,” Rubiaco said.

Rubiaco said the closure will be in place at least through Labor Day weekend.

A severe storm dropped 3.5 inches of rain in the gorge on the night of Aug. 24 and triggered slides that covered the road in four locations within a half-mile stretch on the western side of the gorge.

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N.C. Department of Transportation crews from four counties - Cherokee, Graham, Swain and Jackson - responded to the damage and helped open the highway 24 hours earlier than the initial estimate, according to the DOT.

Crews in trackhoes, front-end loaders, and dump trucks hauled away mud, soil, rocks, limbs and trees from the road, the shoulders and ditches. On Aug. 26, they cut dangerous trees, cleaned pipes, and cleared drainage structures.

A separate crew worked through the night to rebuild an embankment and the shoulder where an 80-foot swatch of debris crashed through the guardrail and into the river, knocking down limbs 20 feet above the road along the way.

“That’s incredible work by those guys," said Division 14 Maintenance Engineer Wesley Grindstaff.

According to an assessment by Forest Service staff, there are locations within the river where debris has created a 90 percent blockage and the water has created diversions around the blockage. These diversions can result in bank erosion, which can compromise the infrastructure of the nearby roads and bridges. These blockages consist of woody debris that is dangerous for anyone recreating within the river.

The Forest Service is working to clear the debris and blockages from the river in order to restore the water flow. They are working with contractors for the removal and have assembled an incident management team to manage the operations.

"The river is a dangerous place to be right now,” said David Perez, Acting Nantahala District Ranger. “Please refrain from visiting the area. We are working as quickly and safely as we can to get the river back open."

According to the emergency closure order, pursuant to 36 CFR 261.5 (a) and (b) issued by the Forest Service, the closure is in effect Aug. 28-Aug. 28, 2021 unless rescinded earlier by the Forest Supervisor.

The closure states:

“The prohibition is in effect in the areas between the Beechertown Launch Ramp and the Silvermine Takeout Ramp on U.S. 19 on National Forest System lands within the jurisdiction of the USDA Forest Service. The prohibition includes the entire Ferebee Memorial Site.”

Prohibited are “going into or being upon or in the area of closure (this includes all forms of presence, including as a pedestrian or by any and all other means),” and “parking or leaving a vehicle in violation of posted instructions.”

Economic 'cascade' effect on the region

The impact of the landslide and water cut-off - the river is fed by releases from the Duke Energy Hydro Station - on the aquatic life is not yet known. As of 4:30 Aug. 29, the Forest Service was still conducting field tests, and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission was not able to access the area due to the hazardous conditions.

One of the concerns wildlife commission staff expressed was the impacts to breeding hellbender salamanders and their shelter rocks.

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Anglers and fishing guides were still recovering from a large fish kill in the Nantahala, caused by a July 23 equipment malfunction that sent water much too warm for trout into the river.

Duke Energy has not released water from Nantahala Lake since the landslide Aug. 25, said spokeswoman Heather Danenhower, to help provide a safe environment for the staff working to clear debris.

But water releases could begin as early as Aug. 31 due to Hurricane Dorian, which has the potential to impact Western North Carolina's river basins.

RELATED: Duke Energy mishap kills trout in Nantahala River

"Right now, Nantahala Lake has 3.5 feet of storage below the seasonal normal maximum elevation," Danenhower said.

"We will continue to monitor Hurricane Dorian until the storm has passed. Individuals who live along lakes and rivers and in flood-prone areas should pay close attention to local media, weather forecasts, changes in weather conditions and rising water levels," she said.

Lake level information is available at www.duke-energy.com/lakes.

But this could not be worse timing for the 14 commercial outfitters who run rafting and kayaking trips down the chilly, but popular river in Swain County, just west of Bryson City.

The Nantahala Outdoor Center, the biggest outdoor outfitter in the gorge, as well as in the Southeast, will be looking at “six figure losses” this holiday weekend, said Jan Wojtasinski, NOC vice president of marketing.

The outfitter runs rafting and kayaking trips down seven whitewater rivers in the Southeast, but the Nantahala River is its most popular, Wojtasinski said. The paddling season is still very much in full swing, he said, and estimates anywhere from 2,000-3,000 people take trips, just with the NOC, over Labor Day weekend.

There are many other river outfitters in the gorge, as well as campgrounds, other lodging, restaurants and ziplines.

Wojtasinski stressed that while the Nantahala River is closed to recreation, all other activities on the campus, including ziplining, mountain biking, the retail shop and restaurants, are all open.

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A big misconception, he said, is that the highway is closed. U.S. 19/74 is open to traffic, and other recreational opportunities are open in the Nantahala Gorge, although the economic impact does have a cascading effect across the region, which is tourism-based, he said.

“Our retail store is highly reliant on river traffic, our lodging and restaurants are highly reliant on river traffic,” he said. “We anticipate on Labor Day weekend we have over $300,000 in business. Will all that business be lost? I hope not.”

Jeff Greiner, whose family runs Wildwater rafting, ziplining, yurts and Jeep tours in the gorge, said the business was completely booked for this weekend. He also had a group of 120 college students from Miami this week.

He said he was able to accommodate the groups on other river trips, including the Pigeon and the Ocoee. The yurts, zipline and Jeep tours are still open this weekend.

“Labor Day is a pretty big weekend for us, particularly Sunday. We were full and looking at trying to set-a-record kind of day. You kind of have to go with the flow. It helps that we have other locations. Other outfitters only run on the Nantahala and don’t have alternatives.”

Annually, there are approximately 150,000 commercial visitors to the Nantahala River, and about 30,000 public visitors, or those who access the river from private boats, Rubiaco said.

Wojtasinski said all customers who had booked Nantahala River trips through the weekend have been notified, but the outfitter is opening up additional spots on its zipline, flatwater paddle trips on Fontana Lake and on the Tuckasegee River in Jackson County.

“This is tragic, but the gorge is open for road traffic and open for other adventure activities. We want to make sure guests on the Nantahala still have a way to have a fun, viable alternate to have an outdoor adventure,” he said.