Rain-heavy storm drops a bomb on earthworks being recreated at North Carolina's Fort Fisher. It will take several more weeks for crews to fix erosion, finish project

South entrance of sallyport tunnel, bombproof tunnel at far left left; earthworks looking toward visitor center,
gun emplacement at top right; click to enlarge (Photos courtesy Fort Fisher State Historic Site)

Historic rainfall along a stretch of North Carolina’s coast heavily eroded replica earthworks going up at Fort Fisher, creating a cascade of mud and delaying the opening of a new visitor center by at least a month.

Communities south of Wilmington – among them Kure Beach and Carolina Beach – received more than 18 inches of rain in 12 hours on Sept. 16. The National Weather Service said such inundation occurs once every 200 years.

Fort Fisher State Historic Site now says the park reopening, originally set for this Friday, will be pushed back until the earthworks are completed. Officials are not sure when that will occur.

A bleak view of the north end of the sallyport tunnel, amid shifted dirt and debris

“There has been a fair amount of damage around the site due to flooding/storm damage. Some trees and limbs came down, along with some pieces of the (replica) palisade fence,” said assistant site manager Chad Jefferds.

The visitor center roof had a small leak and the road to a park maintenance facility was washed out. “The sand in the washout was essentially quicksand.”

By far the biggest damage was to the unusual earthworks project.

The site closed in April to make way for completion of the visitor center and the recreation of three traverses, bombproofs, a magazine and the sally port. Fort Fisher’s use during World War II helped the Allied cause but destroyed some of its familiar defensive traverses. They were removed to make way for an airstrip when the area was used for training anti-aircraft and coastal artillery units.

View from the visitor center to the north parking lot on Sept. 16.

Jefferds said beyond scraping away much of the muck at the earthworks site, the contractor must wait for the proper moisture levels for replacing dirt. “It’s not a simple process.”

“The Underwater Archaeology Branch facility sustained some damage from water intrusion. There are many homes on the island that took major flood damage and some condos have been condemned,” said Jefferds.

A photograph the site posted to social media on Friday was taken last Monday from the front of the visitor center facing north toward the parking lot. “Our thoughts are with all those affected by the storm,” the park wrote.

Entrance to the sallyport tunnel as the storm is happening, fallen tree elsewhere

The state historic site near Kure Beach will feature a two-story visitor center and museum..

Fort Fisher was built on the peninsula between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean, south of Wilmington. It is best known as a crucial coastal bastion for the Confederacy.

On Jan. 15, 1865, after a naval bombardment, the Federal army attacked from the western, river side while Marines pushed in from the northeast bastion. The fall of the “Gibraltar of the South” cut off blockade runners and the last supply line through Wilmington to Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

Tropical storm-battered Fort Pulaski mops up, aims for reopening by next weekend

Sandstone pier prepared for placement of bridge (NPS photos)

Fort Pulaski National Monument near Savannah, Ga., has again rolled with Mother Nature’s punches, this time from the mess left by Tropical Storm Irma.

The park closed on Sept. 6 as forecasters included Savannah as possibly in the path of the then-hurricane. But the path shifted, and the area had to deal more with flooding than sustained high winds.

“This is our third natural disaster in less than a year and it certainly has taken its toll on the park. Part of the reason why we may not open as quickly as people would like is … we are still dealing with after effects of (Hurricane) Matthew and the tornado (in May),” said Joel Cadoff, park spokesman and chief of interpretation.

The park hopes to reopen by September 30 in time for volunteer work and debris removal on National Public Lands Day.

Crews will pump remaining water in fort demi-bastion

The scene a day after Irma pushed through

Cockspur Island recorded a tidal surge of 12.24 feet during Irma, the second-highest on record. And while Irma caused extensive temporary flooding in the dike system of the fort, and to a lesser degree in the park maintenance shop, the famous brick fort that fell to a Federal siege in April 1862 fared much better than it did during Matthew, nearly a year ago.

“The fort actually made out quite well. The floors are in good shape. The only real visible damage is the roof of the veranda on the inside,” said Cadoff. Crews will need to pump standing water from the fort’s flooded southwest demi-bastion.

Park staff was glad that the site lost fewer trees than during the previous calamities.

A bridge was shoved against wall of visitor center

Two wooden foot bridges that lead from the visitor center to the fort interior were again washed away. But the paths they took this time showed how capricious storm surge can be.

“With the wave action and flooding, the demilune bridge wound up lodged against the visitor center steps. In Matthew, that bridge we couldn’t find for several months later until Google maps updated their satellite imagery.”

The sally port bridge, closest to the fort entrance, floated just several yards away during Matthew, lodging on an earthen mound. “This time, it floated north, escaped the clutches of the demilune and we found it almost 400 yards away, near the entrance gate to our parking area.”

Metal parts of wooden doors are treated

Lighthouse lost only a single pane of glass

Bridges have been set back into place. “We are looking at different means to try to anchor the bridges for whenever the next flooding event occurs,” said Cadoff.

The park’s visitor center has been closed since the tornado in late May. It is undergoing ceiling, roof and other repairs.

Pulaski got a bit of a break, compared to Matthew, because of a few less inches of storm surge and less rainfall. A wind gust was recorded at 70 mph, below Matthew’s top speeds.

Ahead of Irma’s arrival, staff raised items of importance from the floor of the fort and maintenance shop.

Matthew’s damage was estimated at $1.8 million. There’s no numbers yet for Irma. “We were … much more prepared this go-around,” said Cadoff.

Maintenance shop had some wall damage from high water. (NPS)

First look photographs: Staff assesses Irma damage at closed Fort Sumter in Charleston

(Photos by Dawn Davis, National Park Service)

Fort Sumter National Monument in Charleston Harbor remains closed after it took a beating from Hurricane Irma. Water inside the fort dropped enough for a National Park Service team to enter the grounds Wednesday and begin evaluating the interior. Dawn Davis, public affairs specialist at Fort Sumter, provided an update to the Picket. On Friday, she said there was no timetable yet for the site to reopen.

Q. Can you tell me about the status of artifacts and exhibits within Fort Sumter?

A. The physical brick fort, the cannon and museum on the island do not appear to be damaged. The cannon will need to be washed off with fresh water since the fort was flooded. The remains of the brick fort appear in good shape despite the debris and remaining water in the fort. The artifacts and museum are good, AC is on and there are no signs of any leaks. We have power in the fort.

Debris at entrance to fort interior

Q. Do you know whether Sumter in recent years has seen this level of water?

A. We have had flooding out there from (Hurricane) Matthew and the flooding event in October 2015. There is more damage with this event and there appears to be more water in the fort as well. Looks like the we had 3-4 feet of water in the fort. 

Q. Can you describe exactly what infrastructure and other damage has been seen during initial assessments? Is there much flooding within the walls?

A. We have dock railings down. Additionally, we do not have power on the dock. There appears to be damage to the accessible lift (the primary way for visitors to disembark the tour boat). The power box for the lift was pushed into the dock and covered in saltwater. We do not know if this will work since there is no power on the dock. The infrastructure for the restrooms has been damaged. We are continuing to conduct assessments on the fort and dock to determine the extent of the damage.