New documentary highlights Fair Bluff’s recovery from Hurricanes Matthew and Florence

FAIR BLUFF, NC (WWAY) — As Hurricane Isaias threatens the Gulf Coast, one Columbus County town is reflecting on the devastation left behind by two major hurricanes and its ongoing efforts to rebuild.

A new documentary titled “The Fight for Fair Bluff” premiered Thursday night at Fair Bluff Baptist Church, telling the story of the town’s recovery from hurricanes Matthew and Florence and the difficult decisions local leaders faced in the aftermath.

Produced by Southeastern Community College, the documentary runs more than an hour and explores the destruction caused by the storms, their lasting impact on the community and the town’s efforts to move forward.

In 2016, Hurricane Matthew brought devastating flooding to Fair Bluff when the Lumber River overflowed its banks, inundating the town’s historic downtown district.

Less than two years later, as residents and business owners were still recovering, Hurricane Florence struck in 2018, flooding the town once again.

“No one would have ever imagined that Fair Bluff would be hit again with a second flood that would pretty much wipe us out,” Fair Bluff Mayor Pro-Tem Clarice Faison said.

“I went into the old town hall wearing chest wadders and saw everything destroyed, everything in town; 100-plus houses needing repair. It was just surreal, you can’t describe it,” Leonard said.

The impact of both hurricanes remains visible along Main Street, where several large empty lots now stand in place of buildings that once made up the town’s historic business district.

Fair Bluff Mayor Billy Hammond, who has lived in the town since 1959, recalled working in some of those downtown businesses before the storms.

“I have worked in some of the stores downtown when they were there and I enjoyed working with the people who owned them. And it was just devastating and again, it’s heart-breaking and heart-wrenching to see it happen,” Hammond said.

Former town planner Al Leonard explained that deciding what to do with the damaged downtown buildings was one of the most difficult challenges local officials faced.

“I think it was something we had to think our way through because obviously we knew if we remove those buildings, they would probably never ever be built back again. And so the gravity of making that decision weighed on us heavily. But at the end of the day, it was basically a code enforcement issue,” Leonard said.

In the years since the storms, nearly $65 million has been awarded to Fair Bluff to support recovery and rebuilding efforts.

The town has also established a new business district known as Uptown, located on higher ground to reduce the risk of future flooding.

Meanwhile, plans are underway to transform the vacant lots along Main Street into a park over the next several years.

Although the town has made progress, Leonard said the recovery is far from complete.

“Fair Bluff is not recovered but we are back on our feet and there’s some good things happening here and our job right now is to make sure those good things keep happening,” Leonard said.

The documentary premiered at Fair Bluff Baptist Church, which was among the buildings affected by flooding from both hurricanes.

Another screening of “The Fight for Fair Bluff” is scheduled for Friday at the church on Main Street.

Southeastern Community College is also looking for a television network, such as PBS or UNC-TV, to help bring the documentary to a wider audience.