Sunday Oct 6th Update: Transition Begins
[Update from David]
Sunday morning was the first operational period in the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) in Black Mountain under the leadership of a new IMT (Incident Management Team) from Maine, a combination of Maine Emergency Management and Maine State Rangers. These are experienced men and women who have deployed to other disasters and are typical of the kind of federal resources that come in after rescues are (generally) no longer viable, and recovery has begun in earnest. This was also the first time the town's response wasn't run by the police chief, fire chief, and two disaster managers loaned by the State of North Carolina—in other words, some relief.
True to form, they introduced more structure with defined roles, for example, a dedicated Safety Officer whose sole focus is on preventing injury to responders, which has become significant with above-average involvement of black bears in the town and yellowjackets attacking. Some of the changes may rub exhausted leaders the wrong way (for example, name badges/credentials are coming since there are more non-locals than locals in the room, so are all authorized to be here?), but overall, it is a huge relief—most of the responders, including leaders, have been working 14-16 hour days for 9 days continuously. Having others step in and lead, let alone remind or introduce best practices, is a huge upgrade.
Two factors (at least) that the team is focused on are evident right away... tracking data is huge and no longer optional, including homes that are damaged and structures that are unsafe, let alone how many hours worked every day and a more precise number of the thousands of citizens that are helped. Metrics help us get the right resources now (we don't need any more water, for example) but also will help in untangling what went right and what went wrong later, as we plan for the next disaster.
Another is paperwork, bureaucracy, and receipts. Not for the sake of bureaucracy, but to minimize how much the town pays for when the invoices come due—and maximize how much FEMA pays for when reimbursements are provided. Our town recently received over $5 million in grant funds for improvements from the federal government, with no local 'match'—100% contributions. A rare achievement. As a result, town staff knows how important it is to cross the t's and dot the i's to get the federal money. Now it is a responsibility that is literally 10x in scale. The expertise of the Maine crew in doing the right paperwork now is a financial gift to our community.
Yes, the Maine team, and all of their costs, are borne by FEMA.
Local Influence
The team leaders were also careful to acknowledge the amazing work done before their arrival and noted that 'Black Mountain is at least a week ahead of the other municipalities' they've seen in Helene, in terms of organization, daily public meetings, press releases, transparency, and above all—public works recovering use of roads, restoring water, and otherwise fighting back the destruction.
We can't emphasize this enough—state and federal resources do not include heavy equipment. I have yet to see an NCDOT truck in town—they're overwhelmed by their own disaster and are rightly focused on the interstates and reaching communities that have been isolated. So, under the leadership of Jamey Mathews, the town simply used its own equipment to restore roads to passable shape (90% of the roads) and restore the water system (which they operate independently of the Asheville water system).
It was great to see the acknowledgment of the locals, and in particular, the IMT made up of Black Mountain career and volunteer leaders that stepped in to lead during the first week.
One Local Leader
In 2020-2021, our region made a national splash with the creation of the first new bike and hike trails on USFS land in Old Fort—the first new USFS trails on the East Coast in decades. Funded initially by the community, not the federal government and not the USFS. An amazing economic development and community improvement, driven by the community. My former company had a role in publicizing that grassroots effort, collaborating closely with the lead USFS ranger for that effort—Lisa Jennings, who lives in our town of Black Mountain. Jen and I have known her for many years, which is one of the reasons why we were involved with the new trails from practically the first meeting.
Lisa is not only a ranger but also cross-trained as a PIO—Public Information Officer, which she serves as every wildfire season here in WNC. On the same day I joined the command staff to help organize rescues, Lisa joined the command staff to be the PIO. And she knocked it out of the park, urging thoughtful transparency, daily meetings in the town square, and the welcoming of citizen volunteers and donations. Indeed, many of the positive aspects of community coming together to help each other on Day 2 originated from Lisa's experience and instincts. And it wasn't just 'public perception'—everything discussed was rooted in authenticity.
She transitioned out of the command staff after one week due to a long-standing obligation in France. Lisa was one of four USFS employees nominated to represent the U.S. at the World Ranger Conference, held every 3-4 years. It is a great honor, and we're proud that she was selected to represent all U.S. rangers.
Literally world-class talent in our little town, stepping up to lead in this disaster like a boss. And she's not the only one.
My Transition
The day after Lisa left, I had to leave too, but for very different reasons. With cell service restored at my house, I got a call at 2 a.m. Sunday morning from my sisters on the West Coast with the news that my father had passed. Suddenly, after one day of feeling poorly. Just as he wanted to go, peacefully and quickly. I spent a couple of hours Sunday morning transitioning my responsibilities to the Suffolk County, VA communications team, and reunited with my wife Jen for a dash to the Charlotte airport and our flight to California late into the night.
It was surreal to be walking around in pleasant California weather, bustling city, running water, and open restaurants—while my mind and heart were back home, worried about friends, business owners, and of course our own house. And confronting the first loss of a parent. And so good to be with family (I have a large one) and comfort my mother. And poignant too, this loss in the context of the loss of human life to Helene. We will be back in about a week.
And this series of updates will truly transition to Rebuilding, from responding and rescuing. If you haven't yet considered donating money to rebuilding, check that out here.
