BURNSVILLE, N.C. — The Director of the Emergency Management Agency in Yancey County, North Carolina, Jeff Howell, is shocked at the progress the community has made since Hurricane Helene hit about five months ago.

Through the WVRC Media Cares Campaign, listener participation across multiple radio stations, and the effort and resources from Titan Roofing, thousands of pounds of relief supplies and monetary donations were transported to the area shortly after the disaster. Listeners filled two 25-foot U-Haul trucks, two box trailers, a dump trailer, numerous beds of pickup trucks, and several other trailers, plus monetary donations were sent to the region.

On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” Howell said the amount of work completed by multiple agencies, businesses, and volunteers has opened roads to nearly all areas of the county. One of the biggest requests from residents has been assistance in removing storm debris from their property.

“I will say the amount of work that has been done in Yancey County, nobody expected us to be as far along as we are today,” Howell said. “I mean the DOT crews; it really is staggering.”

All of the relief efforts have started with rebuilding roads and access points. The reestablished roads have eliminated some of the bottlenecks early in the recovery process and provide important access for first responders and distribution routes.

“They’ve had to build the roads as they go because the roads were completely destroyed,” Howell said. “So it’s taken longer to get to some of these points, but now we can safely get fire trucks and ambulances to every home, not every home but virtually every home in Yancey County.”

Up until this week Howell said electricity has not been available, leaving residents to rely on generators. There is now reliable electricity to power the wastewater treatment plant in Burnsville—another big step forward for residents.

“The challenge for most everyone has been the electricity, and that finally got turned back on this week,” Howell said. “The challenge was there was no road or shoulder for the power companies to go back and put in a pole for the lines to be run.”

Supply donations have streamed in since the disaster, and right now the biggest need is for heating assistance. The High Country United Way has established the Hurricane Helene Rapid Response Fund, where donations that will make an immediate impact can be made.

“We’ve had some well-intended folks that have brought up electric blankets and electric heaters, but that doesn’t do a whole lot of good when the power goes out,” Howell said. “There have been quite a few power glitches, many more than we’ve had in the past, but they don’t last too long.”

Howell said their recovery has been inspiring, and many people are glad to be back in their homes, but many more remain in temporary housing. He estimates it will be nearly a decade before the area will completely recover from the storm.

“To be 100 percent, we are at least seven years out,” Howell said. “Because there are numerous large state bridges that will have to be rebuilt and so many roads that have to be repaved.”

As of this month, as many as 219 have been confirmed dead, and damage has been estimated at $78.7 billion.

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