SHELBY, N.C. — Finding resources has been especially tough for families in western North Carolina after Helene destroyed homes and put some communities under water.
At a Circle K gas station on Highway 74 in Shelby, North Carolina WCNC Charlotte's Kayland Hagwood found some who had traveled long distances to find gas, electricity and food. Many of those were fleeing Asheville and the surrounded areas that were hit hardest by Helene. They were making their way south and east toward communities on the outskirts of Charlotte.
"It was about 30 cars in this [gas] line," Gerald Montgomery, who lives in Shelby, recalled. "It’s been like that for like two days now.”
Families lining up for gas in Shelby after historic flooding.
"We don’t currently have drinking water and I do wonder whether there could’ve been a better plan for that," Brennan Kopp, an Asheville resident who had safely made it to Cleveland County, said on Monday.
After traveling for more than an hour, Kopp joined the gas line on foot worrying their car wouldn't have enough gas to wait in line.
"One of the cars is on fumes," Kopp said. "It’s best that she stay there rather than her get in this line and having to push her.”
It’s a challenge Eric Packer knows too. He lives in Rutherford County and says resources there are also hard to find.
"In Forest City, it’s a madhouse," Packer said.
In Rutherford County, images have show how hard hit Chimney Rock and Lake Lure were from the storm.
"A lot of gas stations are out of gas or they can’t get gas trucks to refill them," Packer said. "So we’re having to come down here to try to get gas and the dollar stores or Walmart. Things are coming off the shelf. So we’re just trying to find anywhere and everywhere to get supplies really.”
The problem is being faced by many in western North Carolina.
"We were stuck in our hotel from Friday morning until Sunday morning with no power and no running water," Sarah Craven, who is also fleeing Asheville, said at the gas station on Monday.
From Shelby to Gastonia, the scene across Charlotte's suburbs is the same.
"We live in a community who has primarily been cut off," Hannah Taylor, who lives in North Carolina's Transylvania County, said. "There’s still a lot of people we haven’t gained access to.”
Taylor says their home, about an hour west of Asheville, had water over 14 feet high.
Contact Kayland Hagwood at khagwood@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.