Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on QRPer.com on Monday, October 7. We are sharing this important information with permission from the author, Thomas Witherspoon.
Good Morning, Friends,
If you haven’t read my previous posts, here’s the situation in a nutshell: we live in a rural mountain community in Swannanoa, NC, where the bridge connecting us to the outside world was swept away during the 1 in 1,000-year flood event caused by Tropical Storm Helene. We’ve also confirmed that a tornado swept through our valley, which explains the large number of trees down on houses and roads.
Community
The reason why I, along with all the households on our one-mile stretch of road, now have egress is because our community came together to make it happen. As I mentioned in previous posts, when I first surveyed the number of downed trees on my driveway and on our road, I thought we would be blocked from the rest of the world for at least a week. Instead, our neighborhood mobilized and cleared everything ourselves.
People we barely knew 10 days ago now feel like family. We all feel this way.
On Saturday at 13:00, we gathered for another neighborhood BBQ. This time, we enjoyed barbecued ribs, and they were exquisite—three different types: blackened, jerk, and extra spicy, both dry-rubbed and marinated.
These neighborhood barbecues give us a chance to relax and have casual conversations, rather than just focusing on work like fixing chainsaws and coordinating home repairs. It’s also practical: sharing meats that were thawing out in our freezers ensures everyone enjoys them before they spoil.
We had so much food that we also invited neighbors from the lower part of the road, as well as the National Guard, FEMA, and others working on our road. Of course, they declined, not wanting to take any resources from us (plus, they had packed their own lunches).
My wife spoke to a neighbor who joked that he wants to print T-shirts that say:
“I Survived Hurricane Helene and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt
(And a Tighter Community)”
That pretty much sums up how we all feel.
We did have a little drama at lunch. One of the National Guard’s RSVs (Re-Supply Vehicles) developed a flat tire. They had to deploy the outriggers and lift the truck to replace it, which completely blocked the road for a while.
Evidently, there’s no easy way to replace a tire on one of these, and each tire must weigh over 200 lbs. Unfortunately, one of the soldiers helping to maneuver the tire fell unconscious, and the tire hit him in the chest as he collapsed.
Fortunately, one of our neighbors is a trauma nurse and jumped into action. The soldier was stabilized and re-hydrated. They quickly finished the tire replacement and took him into town for a proper medical checkup, but fortunately, he appeared to have no major injuries.
We are incredibly grateful for all the hard work of the 5th Battalion 113 Field Artillery. They’ve been amazing.
Coordinated Efforts and Misinformation
Speaking of outside help, we’ve received and been offered more than we could ever take. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s been humbling to be on the receiving end of so much generosity.
Lately, I’ve had almost no time to catch up on messages or news because I’ve been so busy. Yesterday, however, I checked in on Mastodon and a few news and social media sources.
There are rumors going around about major clashes between government agencies and private organizations, groups, and individuals trying to help out here in western North Carolina. This simply isn’t true—not in the way some on social media are portraying it.
Keep in mind that fear, anger, and drama fuel likes, views, and search algorithms, which is why these “news” sources tend to paint everything in the worst possible light. It’s in their best financial interests to create drama where there is none.
Here on our road, we’ve met and worked with our rescue task force, four different FEMA teams, the Sheriff’s Department, the Forest Service, the National Guard, a private-sector ex-military helicopter team, church groups, numerous NGOs, arborist companies volunteering, and countless individuals, friends, and families.
In fact, they’ve all been working together, sharing ATVs and trucks, to get up and down our road. They’ve even coordinated and shared their observations and findings.
Anyone who has been monitoring the N2GE (Mount Mitchell Repeater) will hear coordination efforts between both public and private entities.
The only issues that arise, and where volunteers are turned away, happen when people try to enter areas en masse where access is limited, and their vehicles block the way of search and rescue teams or supply deliveries. Many of our mountain communities only have two-lane access roads, and when these are blocked, it creates serious problems.
Authorities have also asked some individuals to leave when it’s clear their intent is more about disaster sightseeing for their YouTube channels than helping out.
There’s also concern about looters targeting abandoned homes and businesses. If someone shows up in an SUV, ATV, or motorcycle without any sign of delivering supplies or assistance, they’re likely to be turned away. We actually requested law enforcement presence on our road to minimize the number of vehicles traveling across our precarious, temporarily-repaired road. Some groups have shown up in high-performance ATVs just for the thrill of navigating our damaged road. Seriously.
All this to say: don’t believe what you see on social media. It’s not telling the full story. The only people being turned away are those who aren’t really here to help in the first place. Genuine volunteers being refused would be an extreme rarity and likely only because they would be interfering with search and rescue ops.
SITREP (Situation Report)
As of now, our neighborhood feels like it’s in a semi-stable place. We have egress and ingress, we’ve cleared our road and driveways, and we’re working together to overcome the challenges we’ve faced.
At our community meeting yesterday, we even discussed how we could help others who still need their roads or driveways cleared. We have a tractor and a dozen people with chainsaws and ATVs.
Thankfully, most communities around us have already been cleared, which is wonderful news. There’s still months of debris cleanup ahead, but most places around us now have access in and out.
We’ll find other ways to give back to the community.
The power grid is still down, and I imagine it will be for weeks. Duke Energy announced that most people in urban Asheville neighborhoods will have power restored within a few days or by the end of the week. My buddy Vlado (N3CZ) had his power restored last night in south Asheville, which is a good sign.
However, there’s still a lot of electrical infrastructure to rebuild, and rural communities like ours will likely be a lower priority because the work needed benefits only 40 or so households instead of hundreds.
And none of us here take our road for granted. One heavy rain could wash out the temporary repairs or the makeshift bridge that connects us to the rest of the world.
The road is currently a one-lane, steep, and curvy path with no guard rails and steep drop-offs. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s what we’ll have to live with for months until the DOT can properly repair it.
We’re lucky to have fresh water, unlike many urban neighborhoods. We rely on well water, and as long as our well pumps have power, we have water. Additionally, we have a creek running through the valley that we can use to flush toilets or even drink from (with proper filtration).
Those on city water aren’t sure when service will be restored. Asheville’s water treatment facilities and reservoirs were all damaged by the storm, with two suffering severe damage. The North Fork facility, which supplies water to about 80% of Asheville, requires rebuilding a 36-inch bypass line that was destroyed. Access to the damaged areas has also made progress slow.
Water service restoration is the top priority, but there’s no estimated timeline yet. Thankfully, water distribution sites are available across Asheville, so getting drinking water hasn’t been difficult for most.
Updates
In my next update, I’ll explain the details about our solar power system here at the QTH. Many of you have asked for information, so I’ll dedicate a post to it.
Thank You
Once again, our family is overwhelmed by the kindness and love you’ve shown us.
Thank you so much!
Have a wonderful week ahead!
Best & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)
