County Manager Eddie Madden and seven other senior members of county government are on the ground in Western North Carolina helping with hurricane relief efforts.
County Manager Eddie Madden said in an email Monday that the team helped set up a third Red Cross shelter Monday in Buncombe County. Other staffers helped serve and deliver meals.
A major concern for the area is the Asheville reservoir, which Madden said serves 100,000 customers but is currently inaccessible due to washed out roads and other damage. The reservoir is contaminated with stormwater runoff, he said in the email.
“Cell service and electricity are still out for most of the county,” he said, noting that some bottled water and donations were arriving Monday.
County Facilities Services Director Stuart Carroll, Board Attorney Amanda Prince, and Asst. Clerk Misty Jorgenson have been assisting the town of Black Mountain with loading helicopters with supplies and extending local government’s state of emergency to include the issuance of curfews.
Deputy Fire Marshall Jonathan Juhl and Jody King are in Polk County, Madden said, and could not be contacted.
“I do not have any updates from them because communications are mostly dark there,” Madden wrote.
Madden and Kay Stephens of Human Resources were scheduled to assist in search and rescue efforts today (Tuesday).
Gov. Roy Cooper on Monday vowed to bring all available assistance to the victims of the storm.
Cooper went to Western North Carolina to meet with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins, NCDPS Secretary Eddie Buffaloe, NCDHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley, and NC Emergency Management Officials to assess storm damage and ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Helene. After an aerial tour of damaged areas, Cooper visited Mission Hospital, stopped by local businesses that are providing support to the community and spoke with volunteers at a water distribution operation at Biltmore Baptist Church.
“Hurricane Helene is bringing devastating impacts to Western North Carolina and danger remains as rivers are continuing to rise and search and rescue teams do their work,” said Cooper. “We’ll continue to work with federal, state, non-profit and local partners to get people the help they need as we respond to this crisis and begin the recovery process.”
Firefighters and EMTs from several area departments are also on the ground. Brianna Blanks shared on social media that her husband, Marquise Blanks, was on a crew that rescued a family with two small children Sunday.
The family and their children, ages two months and three years, had been without food and baby formula for two days when Lt. Blanks and the team made contact with them. They were all safely evacuated.
While local first responders and government staffers are on the ground, donation efforts have ramped up across the county. (See updated list of dropoff sites in the related story).
An area ministry known for feeding the community is heading out Friday for Asheville.
David Vernon Watts of Willing Vessel Ministries is planning to take a cooking trailer to Asheville to assist in making the estimated 5,000 meals per day needed in that area. In a social media post, Watts said he has five volunteers on board to help make and hand out meals from Friday through Sunday. The group needs LP canisters for cooking, and five gallon water jugs for drinking and cleaning, he said. Contact Watts and Willing Vessel through their Facebook pages if you can help.
Among the items added to the supply list today are clean new hand towels and washcloths; water purification tablets and LifeStraw purifiers; water filters; baby formula; and chainsaw blades, chains and oil. Check with your intended dropoff site before delivering supplies, since not all sites accept some items.
