Friday AM Update – How You Can Help!

[Update from David]

If you’re just joining us, this is a near-daily update email I’ve been writing since Helene started. It was too difficult to reply individually to all the texts and messages coming in, for reasons you’ll understand in a moment.

My path hasn’t been a direct one, for reasons you’ll understand if you start with Update #1, and then work your way up to today. I wasn’t even here when the storm struck, a terrifying experience Jen had alone (with me on an open line on her cell phone).

I didn’t post an update yesterday, because it was simply a chock full day, and another 9pm dinner made in the dark (the salmon was delicious, thawing from the freezer that’s still operational in our camper).

Today is my first rest day since this began, as there is a very capable fire chief from VA (Suffolk County) staffing my role in the IMT (Incident Management Team) at the Black Mountain Fire Dept / EOC. I slept in, made pancakes, Ian made strong coffee, and I can already tell a couple of hours in… I needed a break.

We’ll be cleaning the house and yard today, figuring out how to get quotes for repairing the damage so we can file with FEMA. So it isn’t really a day off, but it isn’t coordinating rescues either, and I’m pretty trashed emotionally and mentally. 

I put things down, then forget where I left it. Like keys, phone, even coffee cup. Some of the most simple tasks can seem overwhelming, especially making decisions, like should I leave town for a couple of days to meet up with Jen, or should she return for a couple of days?

(Jen evacuated so she could work effectively and efficiently); she is employed and being paid, unlike so many of our neighbors.)

How Disasters Work:

I had time this morning over breakfast to process some of the information about other areas and regions – until now I’ve been heads down, focused on our missions and tasks in the EOC (or driving to a nearby location on a task, lights/siren). So I’d like to describe for you how disasters are managed… from the bottom up, not top down.

The State level emergency management doesn’t dictate, it attempts to supply equipment and people as they are requested. This is not simple, as there are, of course, swim lanes for each function: dept of transportation, national guard, state fire resources, etc. So the locality makes the request, which goes up from a town to the county, and then to the region, and then to the State.

The Federal level, “FEMA” is all of that, plus the financial component of writing checks for lodging, food, survival… and rebuilding. But for rescue, they supply resources as requested by the locality.

Generally speaking, the State and Feds don’t respond to the scene un-invited, because that would be inefficient. Read this article for a great, concise explanation of how this works.

So every tragedy, and every successful rescue, every point of distribution for food and water… is local.

For example, we have 27 fire depts in our county (Buncombe). 4 are cities/municipalities, one is the airport. The other 22 are communities in unincorporated county. Some of those are so remote, and so small, only the chief is paid. Everyone else is a volunteer. Does that help you visualize that their very local challenges in this disaster are still not yet known? How do they even request the supply that will be eagerly provided by state or feds… if they have no communications?

I have a little information about the community just to our south (over a ridgeline that is the continental divide) and the Swannanoa community adjacent to us, west of Black Mountain. Both have far less resources than Black Mountain, and have had to rely on citizen volunteers. I know enough to share with you that both have had horrible tragedy, and are struggling with the basics… that Black Mountain now has secured, so much so, that some of the Black Mountain resources are now moving to them.

In my very first update I described that the media doesn’t really understand how the geography of Appalachia cannot really be appreciated until you’ve spent some time here, moving through it – and how compromised it is from high-velocity flash flooding. I can tell from a quick scan of the media that they’re finally getting it, and there is even more personal sharing in social media. Perhaps now you are getting a sense of the scale of this tragedy.

And, I’ve left the best news for last:

WHAT YOU CAN DO

But the really big, huge, humbling, exciting news is that I can finally tell you HOW YOU CAN HELP.

While I’ve been working in the field and in the EOC in Black Mountain, a highly-effective group of friends – Jen of course, Brent and Jamie Bookwalter, Fitzalan Crowe and Ian Sherburne have been working around the clock collaborating with our partner, the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (and others) to launch a fund for rebuilding Black Mountain!

Our focus is on rebuilding Black Mountain  stronger and more resilient than ever, especially for outdoor recreation – which drives much of the economy and jobs in Western North Carolina. 

We’ll be working closely with stakeholders, community members, and other agencies and NGOs (non-government organizations) to do this right. And our vision is long-term (years, decades) for maximum effectiveness.

Almost all of you have asked what you can do – This is it! Give what you can. Start the rebuilding. Learn more here.

Thank you all for your concern, your compassion in the face of massive loss of life and livelihoods, and your empathy for both survivors and responders alike. Even as rescues continue, I really believe we need to start building our vision of an even stronger Black Mountain. 

Onward.

Love, David.

p.s. here’s a video of me, if you need to hear my voice :)