SWANNANOA – The bridge connecting Swannanoa is gone. It’s the stuff of nightmares according to some residents. The word “devastation” is common among those living through Helene.
A shipping container sits where the bridge connecting U.S. 70 to Old U.S. 70 once was. People are getting back and forth using a small footpath that was once the side of the bridge.
Swannanoa is experiencing “total devastation” and the “community is destroyed,” according to Swannanoa Fire Chief Anthony Penland.
The Swannanoa River continues to swell through the unincorporated community, feet higher than it usually is, according to Penland.
On one side of the river sits the old site of the Beacon Mill. The homes that once housed the millworkers are now gone.
“There goes the history of Swannanoa right there,” Penland said. “Our history is gone.”
On the other side of the river, Donna Ogle and her daughter Racehlle Stroupe were both impacted by the storm, though their homes remain standing. They described not being able to get out of their community, by the F&J Food Mart, and how a tree fell on the roof of Ogle’s home. Ogle said she needed a new roof before and “definitely” needs one now, even if she can’t afford it.
“I feel like I’m in a dream to be honest with you,” Stroupe said. “Like a nightmare.”
Ogle said she was lucky to be on a hill where she was mostly spared from the flooding, but she “never expected” Helene to hit this hard and has no food, gas or water.
“I never dreamed of this happening to us,” Ogle said.
She said she is bringing up water by the creek near her house to flush the toilets.
Tropical Storm Helene blasted its way through Western North Carolina Sept. 27, leaving a path of unimaginable destruction behind.
Ogle and Stroupe were in Beacon Village Sept. 30 getting food being distributed by Blunt Pretzels and owner Eddy Schoeffmann.
Schoeffmann said he gathered food that would have expired from local restaurants and is storing it in his business, cooking it in order of spoilage and then handing it out to the community. On the afternoon of Sept. 30, steaks were being grilled.
He said he started giving out the food 2 p.m. Sept. 28 and will continue “until nobody’s hungry anymore.”
“It’s devastating, and I think’s it’s going to take a while,” Schoeffmann said. “I’d rather do this than wait.”
Penland said this is just one of the ways the Swannanoa community is coming together to get through Helene.
He said a community member came to the fire station and, upon realizing the department was lacking in internet connection, brought his own Starlink to the station. The fire chief said the community member activated his account and is letting the station use the connection.
Churches and other community centers in the area are offering food and community during Swannanoa’s time of need.
Penland said the staff of the Swannanoa Fire Department was “taking a step back” Sept. 30 because they needed a reprieve. Resources from out of state have come in and are helping staff search and rescue missions and handling 911 calls.
“I have some folks – and me too – that this is impacting them big time,” Penland said. “I’ve had two of them call me crying saying they’re done. We’ve all cried, I’ve cried. This is going to have lasting effects on some people."
Penland said he has requested for mental health professionals and pastors to come in to talk to his staff to help them get through. He said he has heard from one mental health professional who said they would try their best to get there.
The fire chief has been at the department for 34 years and said he has seen flooding before, specifically in 2004 with Hurricanes Frances and Ivan, but “not to this magnitude” with the winds to go along with it.
Penland said the department knew the storm was coming and went out warning people Sept. 25. He said they were turned away from some homes. The department went back out 5 p.m. Sept. 26 with loudspeakers and told people to get out. He said he heard from at least one person that this saved their life.
As the aftermath of the storm sinks in and supplies come in, Penland said he is beginning to worry about what will happen when supplies do arrive and that he doesn’t want to see fights break out.
“We want to take care of our own, but we don’t want to be greedy,” Penland said. “You don’t know when the next shipment is coming.”
James Warnick, Penland’s neighbor who lives 3 miles from the Beacon Village, biked there to help as needed. He said he has been helping out as he can since the storm hit, and he said he’s not the only one.
“Everybody that can is going out and helping the people that can’t,” Warnick said.
Penland said there are no words that give justice to the magnitude of what Helene brought to Swannanoa.
“This is just unreal,” Penland said. “There’s just no words for hits. Saying it was devastating doesn’t give it justice. Saying it was destroyed doesn’t’ give it justice. There’s just no words for this.”
Despite the devastation, Penland said he is confident Swannanoa will make it through.
“Swannanoa is strong, and we will overcome,” Penland said. “It might take us a while. Patience is our next thing, but I’m a firm believer in our citizens that we will overcome this.”
More:Helene: Black Mountain, Swannanoa distributing water, food amid 'devastation'
Karrigan Monk is the Swannanoa Valley communities reporter for Black Mountain News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kmonk@blackmountainnews.com.
