“There’s not a night since I’ve been back that I lay in bed that I do not think about that area.”
Wesley Kleitches, veteran and owner of PEEC Grading, is just one of the numerous Kernersville residents who felt called to aid the western communities afflicted by disaster. The news cycle may move on, but these individuals remain committed to helping the area get back on its feet.
Tropical Storm Helene hit Western North Carolina on September 27, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, there are 102 verified storm-related fatalities so far. State officials estimate the storm caused $53 billion in damages — the 10th costliest natural disaster in the United States since 1980.
Social media posts in the storm’s aftermath showed roads destroyed, buildings leveled, and heavy debris scattered over mud-drenched terrain, but that does not tell the whole story.
“I’ve told people it’s like the Grand Canyon: You can look at pictures, you can look at paintings, but until you’ve been there in person and you put eyes on it, you just can’t comprehend the amount of devastation,” said Kleitches.
Right after Helene hit, Kleitches got together with fellow Kernersville veterans Joshua Pratt, owner of Savage Roasters Coffee, and Stephen Martin, CEO of Combat Junk Removal and Demolition. With help from Pastor Pete Kunkle, Executive Director of Kernersville nonprofit Hasten International Medical Missions, the trio caravanned to Excel College in Black Mountain.
“In a matter of about 48 hours we had 1,000 gallons of fuel to carry up, a 53-foot semi full of water and food provisions. We had heavy equipment, volunteers, a medical trailer stocked with supplies. Doctors and nurses went up with us,” Kleitches said.
The crew spent the next two weeks conducting search and rescue missions, delivering supplies, treating hundreds of people who needed medical attention, and clearing roads. They focused on rural communities that had not yet been reached, partnering with Savage Freedom Relief Operations to help inaccessible locations via its fleet of helicopters.
“It was never about what we accomplished yesterday. It’s what we need to accomplish tomorrow. What’s next? What’s next? What’s next?” Pratt told Scope News.
Issues stemming from mental illness and addiction were exacerbated after the storm. The desperation led some to violence those first couple of weeks. Reports of shootings and aggression meant the crew took necessary precautions to protect equipment and pharmaceuticals and made sure to travel in balanced teams when going out on missions.
Word spread quickly. At one point, 450 volunteers, many ex-military or first responders, flocked to Excel College to offer their skill sets. Pratt found their attitudes energizing: “[They’d say] ‘I don’t care. I’m here to help.’ It didn’t matter. ‘I’ll wreck my vehicle. I’ll wreck my chainsaw. I’ll wreck whatever. Where do you need me? Let’s go get some stuff done.’”
Back here in Kernersville, Allison and Brian Lawson, owners of ABC Off-Road and Installation and local Jeep club Team Patience, along with VFW Post 5352, collected large amounts of donations, sorted them, and sent trailers full of supplies to the group. If they needed something specific, like chainsaws, oxygen, insulin, or even powdered goat’s milk for a special needs child, they’d alert Allison Lawson and have it within five hours.
“It was better than Amazon,” Pratt said.
VFW Canteen Manager Tami Lowry oversaw many of the supply chain operations.
“We received from all over the community, other VFWs in the United States, not just North Carolina. Several businesses were all coming together trying to help whether it be loaning a trailer or loaning a forklift to get it up into the trucks,” said Lowry. “Everybody just wanted to help. That’s all we could do.”
Chad Loflin, owner of Loflin Concrete Inc., knew his company’s unique heavy machinery would be crucial for the recovery. Under the direction of Fork Mountain Fire & Rescue in Bakersville, he and his team cleared impassable driveways and roads. Loflin machinery got jobs done in a day that otherwise would have taken weeks.
“I’ve been around hurricane clean-up a couple times before at the coast and this was unbelievably different. The flooding and the amount of huge trees that were over, it was kind of mind-boggling,” Loflin said.
Western North Carolina has a denser concentration of heavy trees that often fall uphill, meaning the root ball holds the weight of the whole tree, creating a tougher scenario for removal.
Loflin and his team continue to deliver donations, but he advised anyone looking to donate to be in communication with someone who knows the situation.
“The landscape of issues changes so quickly,” he said. “What they needed last week, they might not even remotely need that now.”
Seven weeks after the storm, Kernersville individuals continue to help with relief as the communities hardest hit slowly switch from the clean-up phase to the rebuilding phase.
“As far as what it looks like now, there’s a lot of work going on, but there’s a ton of work that still needs to happen,” said Martin. “I devoted myself to the long-term.”
Many roads have been repaired to a “passable” condition, though they are not up to standards; water is flowing through faucets, though it is not safe to drink. Many supplies categories are fulfilled, though they will not stay at those levels forever.
Shelter is top of mind for Martin. He partnered with the Heroes Center in High Point to drive campers up one at a time for temporary housing. Elsewhere, Kleitches is helping get tiny homes built in the area so families can move from tents and community centers into more permanent housing.
The volunteers at Excel College largely came in as strangers, but strong bonds quickly formed, resulting in Kleitches and Pratt creating a formal network of military veterans, first responders, and medical personnel called Operation Providing Hope.
“Operation Providing Hope is committed to delivering swift and effective disaster relief across the United States,” the group’s GoFundMe page states. “With a focus on rapid response and community support, we strive to restore safety, dignity, and hope in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.”
Along with raising funds to purchase items like propane, sleeping bags, generators, and building materials, the operation plans to restore some sense of normalcy to the Western North Carolina region for the upcoming holidays. Participants aim to feed a few thousand people for Thanksgiving and carry out a special Christmas surprise for children in the hardest hit areas.
“We’re trying to do a targeted approach — instead of doing a toy drive, we’re trying to raise money or people support a family so that they can make a wish list,” Kleitches said. “And then we’re going to fly Santa Claus in on a [helicopter] to drop presents off. And they’re going to be customized, they’re going to be wrapped with their name on it.”
Through all interviews, respondents repeatedly shared with that Scope News the pure selflessness and connection they witnessed amid heartbreaking circumstances affected them deeply. Some said it restored their faith in humanity. One said it was an event terrible enough to finally unify a very divided portion of America. Regardless, they all found a silver lining through their shared responsibility.
“The government is out there rebuilding the schools, rebuilding the roads and stuff like that,” Kleitches said. “But their focus is not there to deliver meals to these people and getting the blankets to them and getting the body heaters. That’s not what the government’s job is. It is on the community to do that. And we are the community.”
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