Three rivers that swelled to deadly levels during Hurricane Helene on Sept. 27 – the French Broad, Nolichucky and Pigeon – start in North Carolina and empty into Douglas Lake. They transformed the waters of the popular recreation and fishing destination to brown muck and left a one-square-mile island of wreckage after the historic floods.

David Burke’s ambitious plan is to host a feast for more than 5,000 people on Nov. 28 in a gesture of gratitude and resilience in the face of adversity.