News

First responders are cutting their way through roads blocked by downed trees

Heavy rain from Hurricane Helene washed away a driveway of a home on Cabin Creek Road.

By Bill Moss, Published: September 27, 2024

First responders have answered more than 600 calls for service during Hurricane Helene and were struggling on Friday to reach some calls for help because so many roads are flooded or blocked by downed trees.

“We still have dozens of emergency calls that emergency responders are working diligently to get to,” Emergency Management Director Jimmy Brissie said. “They’re either having to cut their way in or find different pathways to get to those calls. About every roadway has a significant number of trees down that’s impacting response capability.”

County Manager John Mitchell joined Brissie in warning residents that the French Broad River won’t crest until 8 tonight at Fletcher and 8 a.m. Saturday at Blantyre around the Mills River area. In Fletcher the river is projected to crest at 30½ feet above flood stage and Blantyre at 29 feet.

“There are two parts to this event,” Mitchell said. “The first was the hurricane itself. The second part is the flooding. There is still time for folks to prepare for this historic flood. We would strongly encourage folks to seek shelter or shelter in place.”

The hurricane emergency calls had resulted in “a number of injuries,” Brissie said. No fatalities have been reported.

“Currently we have resources from across the state assisting our local fire departments and rescue squad,” Brissie said.

As the rain lets up, flash flooding along Mud Creek and other tributaries should subside but the French Broad will continue to rise to historic levels. The emergency operations center is in close contact with the Etowah and Mills River fire departments, which are expected to deal with stranded residents amid rising water through Saturday morning. “Folks that have not evacuated may become isolated,” Brissie said, maybe for several days as the flood cuts off access.

I-26 from Four Seasons Boulevard to Upward Road remained closed before noon Friday. NCDOT crews “are focusing their efforts on trying to get it reopened,” Brissie said.

 Ninety-nine percent of Duke Energy customers lost power.

Blue Ridge Fire & Rescue Chief Will Sheehan said calls have been nonstop.

“We’re pretty overwhelmed right now,” he said. “I haven’t had time to stop and count. I’m sure it’s over a hundred (for) all kinds of stuff — trees down, power lines down, flooded roads, folks trapped in their residence. It’s all over our district. I’ve been doing this 32 years and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

It was not slowing down, either.

“This is still a very fluid situation,” he said.

County officials implored residents not to call 911 about road conditions, power outages and downed trees. The nonemergency information number is 828-771-6670.