There’s a lot of cliches about mountain folk; resilience, determination, resourcefulness and, yes, stubbornness.
These were all on display when Helene visited horror and devastation on our beloved slice of the world, and they were all welcome. People here tend toward self-dependence, and as such a lot of folks had the tools needed to ride through the storm – foodstocks, fuel supplies, chainsaws, generators etc. – and had access to heavier equipment to help clear impassable roads.
There’s no overstating how terrifying and devastating Helene was in terms of death and sheer destruction. Some WNC towns have literally been wiped off the map, and all of us were knocked back to the Stone Age to some degree, with communications knocked out.
A lot of us had to sit in the dark, conjuring up the worst fears of the fate or our neighbors. Photo courtesy of WFMYnews2.com.
But a lot of us also took it upon themselves to venture out to see what we could do to help. A lot of those efforts helped save lives or provide whatever aid could be given to those in need. In fact, so many people were out checking on neighbors, trying to round up water and supplies, attempting to clear roads, etc. that it was a bit of a problem in that people were stepping all over each other.
That was alleviated in large by a competent response on the ground from volunteer organizations, first responders and local and state government. That the response was as quick and effective as it was nothing short of astounding, especially given the fact that everyone was pretty much in a communications blackout thanks to the loss of internet and phone services.
Sadly, part of the effectiveness of the response is that a great many local officials, from here to Canton to Asheville, have been through versions of this before. In a very real sense, Hurricane Alley runs now runs through Western North Carolina.
As to the communications collapse, therein lies two of the immediate pressing questions of this event: How did we get so blind and deaf so fast across such a wide area? And what needs to be done so it doesn’t happen again? Previously effective 911 systems became useless when no one could get on either end of the line.
When communications did begin working in stops and starts, a sad chapter of this saga began when charlatans, clowns, pot-stirrers and, yes, foreign actors flooded the zone with stories meant to outrage and confuse. This secondary deluge got so bad local, state and federal officials had to devote resources to debunking misinformation.
Those folks pulled away to flush the junk, with their hands already full, certainly had better things they could have done with their time.
But the happy problem we faced in this region was something of an overload of people wanting to help. In the short run it appears to be a lot of folks stepped up, both in official and volunteer capacities, and a lot of good calls were made.
Some of those calls were tough. Western Carolina University was forced to cancel Mountain Heritage Day due to Helene, and in an unprecedented move a week later held a home football game with no fans. We feel both were the right call, the first due to the obvious dangers to life and limb and the second due to the fact that road traffic to ravaged areas remained the top priority (and also due to the fact a large part of the WCU community itself was in the middle of relief efforts). Considering the fact a home football game generates a million bucks in economic activity… well, it was the right call.
We won, by the way.
Also on the economic front, leaf season is gone. And that means the season when local businesses build up enough fodder to last through the winter is gone with it. Keep your dollars local to help keep them keeping on.
Beyond the loss of life and income, we all need to be cognizant of Helene’s damage to the spirit. This storm came as some areas were still rebuilding from Tropical Storm Fred and other localized disasters, laid atop the economic, physical and mental trauma of a pandemic that put the whole country on its back. With Milton bearing down on Florida, the hits from the Age of Chaos just keep ‘a comin’.
With Milton and the upcoming election, the focus on WNC will soon be cast to other places and issues, and that’s when we need to keep our focus. As so many have said, this recovery will not be a sprint but a marathon lasting months and years. Helene didn’t just knock down trees; it has changed the geography of much of the area.
So, it’s important to keep checking back to see what folks need when the national focus has shifted. Mountain natives and the new mountain folk who have sewn their own roots here will still be at the rebuilding.
They, and we, will keep swinging. There’s a lot to be said for stubbornness.
Jim Buchanan is an editor of The Sylvia Herald, former Editorial Page Editor for the Asheville Citizen-Times and writes for Carolina Commentary.
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