This Land, Your Land

The National Forest Service said today it is closing 12 campsites at its Mortimer Campground near Colletsville in Pisgah National Forest because of repeated flooding. Eleven other sites at the campground will remain open.

The campground is on Thorpe Creek near the Wilson Creek National Wild & Scenic River recreation area. The campground has showers and bathrooms, a picnic pavilion, hiking trails, and access to fishing. About 800 people stay at the campground annually, according to a news release.

Sites 1 to 11 on the lower loop and one of the walk-in sites will be closed. Three walk-in campsites near the picnic pavilion, and sites 12 to 19 will be open on a first come, first-served basis this season.

"It is well known that the Mortimer area has a long history of flooding," John Crockett, Grandfather District ranger, said in the news release. "In fact, the flood of 1940 leveled the town of Mortimer.

"I cannot, in good conscience, continue to allow visitors to stay in the lower portion of Mortimer Campground knowing that it's just a matter of time before another major flood hits the area."

The Wilson Creek corridor, a major access to Mortimer Campground, has had a history of recent flooding with several swift-water rescues for campers and residents along the Brown Mountain Beach Road, the news release says.