Irma: School closures, power outages and what else we're seeing Tuesday

ASHEVILLE -- The remnants of Hurricane Irma swept through Buncombe County Monday night and into Tuesday, damaging trees, shuttering several school districts and leaving tens of thousands of residents without power.

More than 40,000 residents in Western North Carolina, including about 15,000 in Buncombe County, are without power as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, Duke Energy's online outage map shows. The company said the average power restoration time is about three hours, though multiple outages reported online began in the evening Monday.

At least six area school districts — Asheville City Schools, Buncombe County Schools, Henderson County Schools, Jackson County Schools, Rutherford County Schools and Transylvania County Schools — are closed Tuesday as a result of the storm. Multiple districts, including Avery County Schools, Cherokee County Schools and Haywood County Schools, among others, are opening Tuesday with delays ranging from two to three hours.

A complete list of area school closures and delays is located here.

The Buncombe County Emergency Communications Center is reporting trees and power lines down throughout the county, some of which are causing traffic issues.

Among reported road closures reported early Tuesday:

Sweeten Creek Road at Kensington Place south of Mills Gap Road is closed due to a tree that has fallen and is resting on power lines in the area.

US-441 is closed in both directions in Swain County near the Tennessee state line, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. It is expected to be closed until about 6 p.m.

US-64 between Franklin and Highlands is impassable due to an automobile crash in the gorge. Travelers are encouraged to detour through Buck Creek Road until further notice.

Macon County Emergency Management has closed NC-106 from 2200 Dillard Road in Highlands to the North Carolina-Georgia line due to "a large number of downed trees blocking the road."

Chimney Rock Road from Gilliam Mountain Road to US-74 in Henderson County is closed in both directions due to power lines in the road.

Grant Mountain Road near Near US-74 ALT in Henderson County is closed in both directions as a tree has fallen across the road.

Terry's Gap Road near Kyles Creek Road in Henderson County is closed due to power lines and trees in the road.

Middle Fork Road near US-74 in Henderson County is closed due to power lines and trees in the road.

Bearwallow Mountain Road near Clear Creek Road in Henderson County is closed due to a tree falling in the road.

NCDOT is encouraging area residents to stay off the roads, if possible, and to avoid flooded areas.

The National Weather Service forecast shows Asheville reaching a high of 65 degrees Tuesday with rain mostly before 2 p.m. A south-southeast wind is expected to be between 11 to 16 miles per hour with gusts as high as 25 miles per hour.

Patchy fog is in the forecast in the evening with rain and a south wind between 5 to 9 miles per hour.

Despite the weather, the 2017 N.C. Mountain State Fair is scheduled to re-open Tuesday at 3 p.m. on its regular schedule.

The fair was closed Monday due to inclement weather conditions.