The scars and reminders of Irene are still obvious, five years later, in a drive along state Route 73 from St. Huberts to Keene.

In places along the highway, you can still see piles of rocks sprawled in the woods, well past the banks of the small streams that the storm turned into raging rivers.

A series of new bridges is under construction, replacing ones that were battered and scoured by the deluge of water and debris from Irene.

There are shiny new firehouses in Keene Valley and Upper Jay, and a new retaining wall along Gulf Brook in Keene. which surged with such force that it tore away part of the hamlet’s firehouse. The spot is now a parking lot.

Much has changed in these and other communities in the region that were hit hard by Irene. Homes and businesses were wiped out; some have rebuilt and reopened. Other homeowners relocated after taking buyouts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Millions of dollars in state and federal aid has poured into the towns of Keene and Jay. The money has helped rebuild roads and bridges, clean up debris, restore streams and build new firehouses in Keene and Upper Jay.

In the Adirondack backcountry, the storm carved new slides on the High Peaks and severely damage two dams at popular camping spots: Duck Hole and Marcy Dam. The pond at Duck Hole drained down the Cold River after its dam collapsed. The state has no plans to rebuild it. The pond behind Marcy Dam drained down Marcy Brook and took out the bridge that crossed it, but most of the dam was left intact. State officials built a new bridge further downstream but ultimately decided it would be too expensive to repair the dam. They started dismantling it last year.