The Hatfield-McCoy Trails has substantially recovered from flooding in Mingo County, West Virginia, earlier this month and hopes to be back to 100 percent by June 1, Executive Director Jeffrey T. Lusk said Thursday.
Also, all Hatfield-McCoy equipment not being used to repair the trails is being loaned to the town of Gilbert to help in flood recovery, Lusk said.
Southern West Virginia was stricken by heavy flooding on May 9, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses. Much of the damage was centered in Gilbert in Mingo County.
"This was a catastrophic event that most of us have not seen before," Lusk said. “The Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreational Authority wants to do its part to help the town of Gilbert and businesses in that area.
“We have all of our crews working overtime to get the trails up and running and every piece of equipment we have that is not pushing dirt in the woods on trails is in Gilbert helping with flood recovery,” he said.
“Gilbert is the centerpiece of our trail system,” Lusk said. “We lost probably about half of the Rockhouse Trail System and about half of the Buffalo Mountain Trail System.” (Rockhouse is located near Gilbert and Buffalo Mountain near Williamson.)
The connector to the town of Gilbert was reopened May 14, Lusk said, with about 70 percent of the Rockhouse and Buffalo Mountain trails also reopened.
The connector to Matewan remains closed, he said, but was expected to reopen by May 20. “We’re going to get through this,” Lusk said. “We’ve been working 12- to 14-hour days since Saturday to get the trails open and to help businesses recover.”
The Hatfield-McCoy Trails is a key economic engine for the area, especially in and around Gilbert where many businesses have sprouted since the Trails opened in 2000.
The four other trail systems – Bear Wallow, Indian Ridge, Little Coal and Pinnacle Creek – were largely unaffected, Lusk said, and are fully open.
A tip o' the hat to the Charleston Daily Mail's Bob Wojcieszak for the pictures.
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