Editor's note: This updates with facilities opening at Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Damage assessments were ongoing Friday at Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras national seashores, both battered by heavy surf as Hurricane Erin moved past North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore remained closed, with parts of NC Highway 12 covered in water and sand. At least two additional dune areas were breached in Friday morning's high tide, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
"Our crews are out clearing and rebuilding dune, and at the very least we still have no indication of pavement damage, but NC12 remains closed at the Marc Basnight Bridge and on the north end of Ocracoke at this time," the DOT said in a morning update.
At Cape Lookout National Seashore, staff were on duty at the Harkers Island Visitor Center and many facilities were either back open or scheduled to open this weekend.
Friday
- The Harkers Island Visitor Center is open. Hours of operation are daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EDT)
- The Light Station Visitor Center (and the pedestrian boardwalks from the Lighthouse Ferry Dock leading up to and around the Cape Lookout Lighthouse and to the oceanside pedestrian beach) reopened.
- Light Station Visitor Center hours of operation are daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EDT)
- Passenger ferry service (via Island Express Ferry Service) to South Core and Shackleford Banks, from Beaufort and Harkers Island, resumed. For more information, call (252) 728-7433, or visit: www.islandexpressferryservice.com.
- Hours of operation, from Beaufort: daily, every 30 minutes from 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
- Hours of operation, from Harkers Island: daily, every hour from 8:15 a.m. – 5:45 p.m.
- South Core Banks: Open to pedestrians and beach driving only, due to standing water on the backroads.
Saturday
- The Great Island Cabin Camp will reopen. For more information regarding cancellations, or upcoming reservations, contact Recreation.gov at (877) 444-6777, or at: www.recreation.gov.
- South Core Banks open to vehicle traffic. Visitors with vehicle ferry reservations may call for more information regarding schedule and/or reservations at the following: Cape Lookout Cabins and Camps Ferry Service (Davis, NC; (252) 729-9751).
Sunday
- The Keeper’s Quarters Museum will reopen. Hours of operation are daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- North Core Banks will reopen to vehicles. Visitors with vehicle ferry reservations may call for more information regarding schedule and/or reservations at the following: Morris Marina (Atlantic, NC; (252) 225-4261).
Meanwhile, concerns rose at other locations as Erin moved further north. Lifeguards at Cape Cod National Seashore closed the water to all recreational activities at the seashore’s six oceanside beaches. Access to the off-road vehicle corridor was also closed.
Cape Lookout is located off the coast of Carteret County, North Carolina, about 82 miles northeast of Wilmington. Ferry service to the park was expected to be closed at least through Friday. The visitor center, accessible via bridge from the mainland, was expected to operate as normal.
NC Highway 12 is the only road that accesses Cape Hatteras, so it's likely to take longer to get a full picture of any damage there. Past hurricanes have ripped up sections of the two-lane highway that runs the length of the seashore.
"We are not going to be able to conduct full assessments until tomorrow and into the weekend," Robin Snyder, deputy superintendent for the Outer Banks Group of parks, said in an email Thursday.
A key concern at Cape Hatteras National Seashore was that some houses at Rodanthe and even Buxton might be knocked down by the surf as beach erosion over the years have left them standing near or below the high tide line. Such calamities litter the beaches and surf with building debris and hazardous wastes. At least ten houses have fallen into the surf in recent years.
Farther north, Assateague Island National Seashore had closed all ocean-wide beaches to water activities due to strong rip currents; Fire Island National Seashore closed the Watch Hill and Sailors Haven beaches due to rough water conditions, and; Cape Cod National Seashore staff was warning visitors not to risk getting swept out to sea by strong currents.
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