Day 10 of the Apocalypse, Gerton, NC, pop. 231

We are Ground Zero.

I didn’t understand until yesterday that the Hickory Nut Gorge, comprising (from North to South) Gerton, Bat Cave, Chimney Rock, and Lake Lure, was the hardest hit during Helene.

Somehow the hurricane stalled right above our Gorge Friday morning 9/27, which is what caused the massive flooding and microbursts of trees collapsing.

Our friends Stan and Dave, for example, had 200 trees, mainly large Poplars, collapse on their mile-long road. They were hit by a microburst.

We were in the eye of the hurricane.

Now I get why we’ve had so many volunteers and donations show up.

As of yesterday, we’ve asked people to stop bringing donations and volunteer support to Gerton. We are full for now with supplies and we’ve (thankfully) run out of things for unskilled labor to do.

We will need supplies again probably in a couple of weeks. My husband Jeff continues to coordinate with our Fire Department and the outside world regarding urgent needs.

If you would like to donate supplies in the future please follow his Facebook group for daily updates: “We are Gerton, NC.”

Right now we need skilled labor only:

• Sawyers with technical skills to cut giant trees requiring cranes to move them.
• Road reconstruction crews.
• Home restoration experts, as mold is forming on houses that were flooded.
• And of course, line workers to replace all of our downed power lines and restore electricity to our area.

Gerton is now officially in the Recovery phase.

Bat Cave, Chimney Rock, and Lake Lure (where parts of Dirty Dancing were filmed) remain in the Rescue phase. Nearly 300 people are still missing.

Searching for people is complicated because the road between Gerton and these communities is gone. It is now a giant pile of rocks, debris, and washed-away homes. This was caused by the Rocky Broad River, which used to run next to the highway, overtaking the road during the hurricane.

There is no way to easily maneuver around these communities to search for bodies. Skilled rescue workers are working diligently to clear debris and rubble to find people.

We are on Day 10, and there is still so much more to be done.

Our prayers are with everyone affected by Helene, but especially here in our Gorge.