After the storm: leaving Montreat in the wake of Hurricane Helene

By Kari Preslar

I know you have seen the news footage of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina, but this is what I saw and experienced. I know Montreat is a special place for many of you. I have never seen such devastation!

My friends and I all met at Montreat for Craft Week, where I took the photography class. It was a wonderful week! With news of the hurricane headed toward Florida, we watched the weather maps closely. All indications, even the day before the storm was to hit western North Carolina, had Asheville well out of harm’s way. There would be some rain, but that’s all. But we all know you can’t predict a hurricane. No one was prepared for what happened, though.

We were safely in our vacation rental home when the storm hit. For those who know Montreat, it was off Greybeard on Suwanee. The winds came, and the rain just got harder and harder. When all was done, 29 inches of rain fell, downing huge trees and washing out big sections of roads. There was no electricity, no water, no cell service (for me), and no way off the mountain.

Three of my friends kept cell service, which was a blessing for others who live on Suwanee. Our house was where they came to contact their families. We got to know the family members of several neighbors who would call our phones to get updates about their loved ones.

In the house across the street from us, a retired pastor and his wife had a generator. We powered our phones and even got a breakfast of eggs and bacon from them.

There was a trail that started right beside our house, which the locals took for exercise, but it took you right down to “civilization.” We kept our front doors wide open to let in the light, so everyone who walked by waved and checked in on us.

A couple were headed down the trail because they had heard that there was water distribution happening at the Montreat gate. They said they would bring some back for us if they could carry it. A while later, they came with two gallons of water for us. Since we couldn’t flush our toilets normally, we had men who would randomly bring us big buckets of “toilet water” from the stream. That community was amazing!

We hunkered down to wait. About a day later, a Montreat police officer and two volunteers appeared from the trail. They were going door-to-door doing wellness checks. We told them we were on vacation, and we were running out of food, water, and medications. The police officer made notes.

The people on the mountain were all getting anxious now, realizing that the possibility of driving down is not going to be likely for a long time. That evening, we had a discussion with Bill, the retired pastor from across the street; he and his wife had decided that it was time to evacuate, and he advised us that we should do the same. He said he would get some help to carry our luggage down the trail the next day. We started packing our stuff.

By now, it’s Sunday. Suddenly, from the trail, the same police officer appeared at our door, this time with two sheriff’s deputies from Cherokee County, Georgia. Walking down the road from another direction were about 25 first responders, also from Georgia. They were going door-to-door and were prepared to begin evacuating people. So, Bo (the police officer) and Parker and Shawn (the deputies) carried our luggage down the mountain to West Virginia Terrace, where they could bring a pick-up truck to get us the rest of the way down.

From the truck, we were able to witness some of the devastation that had occurred in Montreat. Several houses were destroyed due to falling trees. Many people stopped our truck, giving Parker addresses of people they hadn’t heard from to please get someone to check on them. He wrote every address on his hand with a Sharpie, assuring them someone would go.

My friends and I ultimately ended up at Hickory Lodge and enjoyed three hot meals from the Assembly Inn. Even without any essentials, hospitality was still happening.

On Sunday evening, we got word from Bill that we could drive our cars off the mountain. Fast work was being done to clear trees. Bill came and picked Cheryl and I up and drove us carefully back up, winding our way through the debris along the only three roads that were even close to being clear. It was a great relief to get our cars because the plan when we left the cabin was to abandon them. Mine was a rental car, and I did not want to have to explain to Enterprise that I was not returning their car.

Montreat and western North Carolina are in desperate need of our help. The water system suffered a catastrophic failure, and there is no timeline on restoration of power. It looks like the cell phone companies will be setting up some kind of emergency service, which will be incredibly important. First responders are arriving daily, loaded down with essential needs, and a handful of restaurants and churches have been able to provide meals. The Assembly Inn is expected to serve as a distribution site for supplies, and the Montreat housing is being used as housing for first responders. In fact, Montreat staff were at Hickory Lodge as we were packing our car because they already had people to move in.

This is going to be a long-term disaster. Those with the means are leaving their homes for safer locations, but many people will not be able to do that. The first responders are doing ongoing welfare checks, especially with homes that are high up in the mountains. So many people are still unaccounted for, and the death toll continues to rise.

If you are able, please donate to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance at pda.pcusa.org, using the designation code DR000169. Donations can also be made to the Montreat Retreat Association at montreat.org.

Photos by Kari Preslar and Amy Parker