RUTHERFORD COUNTY, N.C. — The mountain communities of western North Carolina continue to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of Helene. Entire towns were slammed with historic flooding that ripped through homes and storefronts deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Now, emergency crews are racing to find people still unaccounted for amidst the devastation in Rutherford County, one of the hardest-hit areas. They're up against a slew of challenges, from limited cell service and lack of power to destroyed roads. Still, it seems that all sorts of first responders - even dive teams - are on the ground.
In the town of Chimney Rock, crews fanned out near what was left of the main drag. Steve Garrison, the county manager, told WCNC Charlotte about what he and his colleagues are seeing.
"Lake Lure honestly looks like an atomic bomb went off," he said. "A lot of that debris that came out of the Rocky Broad is now collected into Lake Lure and most of the surface is covered in wood and other debris."
Garrison has been overseeing the response from Rutherford County's emergency operations center in Forest City, the largest city in the county and just southeast of the county seat of Rutherfordton. He's been coordinating resources with local and national partners, from the sheriff's office to the National Guard.
"We're still trying to do recovery. There's a lot of homes up there covered in mud and we're working through the area now," he said.
Beyond the muddy terrain, a lack of connectivity and power prove to be major setbacks for emergency teams.
"Our mobiles are almost ineffective," Garrison said. "All the things that we use for those communication tools have been down."
Crews have pivoted to radio communications and to Starlink satellite internet to help. Jonathan Manness, the emergency management assistant for Rutherford County, said those tools are helping him and his colleagues work around the clock to find those in need.
"We love where we live and these folks are just like family here," he said. "It's been extremely difficult but that's what keeps us going and driving to improve the situation.
Even though the situation in Rutherford County is dire, neighbors have been stepping up to help in any way they can. That includes the Rutherford County Schools district, which is helping students in the wake of the storm.
"It's something that we've never seen in this lifetime," said Ritchie Garland, a marketing coordinator with the district who also works as part of the county's education foundation, about the storm. "The top part of our county -- the devastation is unreal. We do serve Chimney Rock and Lake Lure, we have families that are in there."
Sanna Smawley is the assistant principal at Chase Middle School. She shared that her staff is still making outreach to the families impacted by Helene.
"Most of our people are still without power," she said. "We have touched base with some of our children who cannot get out at all -- no form of transportation."
Volunteers - many of them teachers - spent Wednesday packing boxes full of supplies at the Callison Recreation Center. They hoped the supplies they got together could make an impact on their students in this dire time.
"Just running and sorting and packing to make sure everybody gets what they need," Smawley said.
Garland had a message for people outside of the mountains: the community needs help, and it's banding together too.
"It's truly comforting today. I've kind of gotten emotional several times just by seeing the community come together," he said.
Contact Kayland Hagwood at khagwood@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.