Emergency responders have resorted to using mule trains to deliver supplies and aid in North Carolina’s mountainous western areas, where mudslides and raging waters brought by the remnants of Hurricane Helene washed away roads this weekend.
Asheville, a haven for artists in the Blue Ridge Mountains, has been cut off from nearly all forms of conventional transportation and communication, but Mountain Mule Packers, who describe themselves as “extreme terrain pack animal supply trains,” are going where planes, trains and automobiles cannot.
“We will be getting supplies at Tractor Supply and then heading out there, also looking to assess the situation and possibly going to Black Mountain as well,” the group said in a public message on its phone answering service, noting overwhelming requests for relief.
Initially based in the Sierra Nevadas, the mule packers are now headquartered in the hills of North Carolina, where they conduct military training for hauling ammunition. Now they are delivering aid to neighbors stranded without water and cellphone service.
Helene, which made landfall Friday in Florida’s Big Bend area, left a watery path of destruction as it moved northward toward the Carolinas as a tropical depression. The storm’s death toll rose to at least 120 in six states on Monday. More than 600 people were missing, and thousands were without power.
President Biden told Southern governors that the federal government would do everything possible to help the Southeast and Appalachia recover from a “history-making” storm.
“I want them to know, we’re not leaving until the job is done,” Mr. Biden said at the White House.
Mr. Biden said he spoke with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and leaders of other areas impacted by Helene. He planned to examine the damage firsthand as “soon as possible” but said a visit now would be disruptive.
“I expect to be down there by Wednesday or Thursday,” the president said.
Mr. Biden declined to say whether former President Donald Trump’s presence in Georgia on Monday would be disruptive. Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, planned to address the storm recovery in Valdosta.
Vice President Kamala Harris cut short a Western campaign to return to Washington on Monday for a briefing on the storm response.
Mr. Biden said he would ask Congress for supplemental funding to help with recovery efforts. Lawmakers are on recess until November, and Mr. Biden said he may consider asking Congress to return to deliver storm recovery funding.
SEE ALSO: Trump arrives in Georgia to survey storm damage, questions Biden-Harris response
In Georgia, Mr. Kemp said during a news conference that the death toll in his state had risen from 17 to 25.
More than half of Helene’s fatalities have been reported in the Carolinas. North Carolina’s Buncombe County, which includes the city of Asheville, reported at least 35 people killed there.
Mr. Cooper predicted that North Carolina’s death toll would rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.
“Devastation does not even begin to describe how we feel,” Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said during a news conference.
Overnight shelters have been at capacity, drinkable water has been scarce and misinformation has been a problem, county officials said.
People waited in a line for more than a block at Mountain Valley Water in West Asheville, The Associated Press reported.
Some had milk jugs. Derek Farmer brought three glass gallon-sized apple juice containers. The business was selling water — cash only and writing invoices on what looked like an ancient pad — just outside its fenced-in lot.
Mr. Farmer has lived in Asheville for more than two decades. As a veteran of a flood in 2004, he was ready. Day Three without water made him nervous about getting more.
The community has brought help where the government has not. Bill Wadell of AccuWeather posted on X that volunteers and strangers were using privately owned helicopters to deliver emergency supplies and help people evacuate the hardest-hit communities in western North Carolina.
Stephanie Kraus, who lives with her husband in Roan Mountain, Tennessee — a mountain community bordering North Carolina — told The Washington Times that she has been “pleasantly surprised” that her neighbors haven’t waited for outside help.
“Citizens are just taking it upon themselves to clear the roads instead of waiting for FEMA or the state or the county. It’s amazing what we can do with a chain saw and some effort,” she said. “We can do a lot for ourselves when we all join forces and work together.”
Ms. Kraus said the situation has provided the opportunity to contribute in a way little else can.
“It’s really a beautiful thing to behold,” she said. “[It’s] something we don’t ordinarily experience until a disaster occurs.”
Mountain Mule Packers said on their Facebook page that they have been “overwhelmed with the amount of support and encouragement” since they announced their plans.
Mr. Wadell of AccuWeather said, “Donations are needed for the cost of fuel, food, bottled water and emergency supplies.”
CrowdSource Rescue, a Texas-based disaster aid nonprofit helping with relief efforts in North Carolina, said they are in “desperate need” of more local volunteers for “wellness checks and supply drops in inaccessible areas.”
“If you have a 4x4, reasonable self-sufficiency, and can help tomorrow, please reach out,” the group posted on X.
• Tom Howell Jr. contributed to this article, which is based in part on wire service reports.
• Emma Ayers can be reached at eayers@washingtontimes.com.
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