Blue Ridge

The spot reminded him of his childhood and the Blue Ridge Mountains where he grew up, and vacations at Holden Beach on the shores in North Carolina.

His father's family was based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Francis worked for the parks system for 41 years, including stints at Yosemite and Shenandoah National Park, before retiring as superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway in 2013.

Blue Ridge Regional Hospital, which serves three counties, has long had a standby power supply but scrambled to cope with losing water.

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, many Asheville citizens believed they were insulated from the kinds of vicious storms that are a byproduct of climate change.