Oak Island reopens after Isaias, but displaced sand dunes cause concern

The beach front in Oak Island will open back up Friday morning, after being closed since Hurricane Isaias hit last month.

However, reopening does not mean the town is fully recovered – and anyone visiting over the weekend may see that the beach looks a little different at the moment.

The Oak Island beachfront should be packed with visitors, but they seem to be outnumbered by piles of debris and workers putting homes back together.

“I am shocked at – there is stuff that has not even been touched," said Elizabeth Parks, a homeowner on the beach.

In the immediate aftermath of the storm, some streets were completely buried under sand carried by a storm surge. Now, the sand is piled in massive mounds after being bulldozed off the roads.

Before all this sand can go back on the beach, the debris in it must be sifted out. However, town leaders said turtle season has slowed that process down immensely. No one can begin moving sand to the beach until after sea turtle season has passed – in November.

A tough break, because the hurricane left many beach front homes vulnerable, with no sand dunes to protect them. The beach, instead, is flat – offering little protection from the waves. That could be a problem, especially if another storm comes through.

"We are trying to get something back in place before another storm comes,” said David Kelly, the town manager.

While those huge piles of sand sit, town leaders hope they can put an emergency berm in place on the beach to protect homes in case another storm comes their way.​

Despite all of it, Mayor Ken Thomas said this area of Oak Island will reopen.

"The rental people have got to get the houses back. The businesses in that are have got to open up. This has been one horrible year," said Thomas.