Giant Leap Consulting is based in Asheville, N.C. I’ve lived in Asheville for nineteen years, after moving from Atlanta, Georgia. My wife and I chose to live here because of the groovy vibe, outdoorsy community, and millions of beautiful trees. In our wildest dreams, we never thought we’d end up at ground zero for Hurricane Helene.
I have to confess, I love heavy weather. I was even stupid enough to have hunkered down during Hurricane Bob in 1991 when I was living in Carolina Beach, N.C. Hurricane Helene didn’t intimidate me, and by the time its remnants hit Western North Carolina, it had been downgraded to a tropical storm. So I underestimated what I thought the impact would be, even as I donned a raincoat and stepped outside into the storm.
What I didn’t take into account was the biblical once-in-a-thousand-year rainfall that Asheville had just had 36 hours before Helene came through. The water was already so saturated, and the rivers so crested, that Helene became a natural disaster tipping point. After the storm was over, I took pictures of home after home whose roofs had been toppled on by a large tree. Every single picture you see here was taken by me after the storm, except the 4-second video which was taken by my son, Ian.
Mother Nature took away Asheville’s water, electrical, cell, and internet services. For the first 24 hours, there was no help on the ground at all, other than committed neighbors. No FEMA, no energy companies, no Spectrum, no faith-based organizations. No nothing. It appeared that the cavalry wasn’t coming to save us.
Asheville Coming Together
A few years back I bought a generator, figuring we might need it in the event of a rare ice storm. It came in very handy, as it allowed us to keep our food refrigerated and our devices charged. The most uncomfortable part was not having potable water. The City of Asheville turned off everyone’s spigots. We were forced to use water from our neighbor’s backyard pool just to flush our toilet. While the discomfort of not having any power or water or internet would get prolonged, the cavalry did, in fact, come.
Despite whatever conspiracy wacko bullshit you may have heard from people who don’t live in Western North Carolina, FEMA was (is) here and is actively helping people in numerous ways. The faith-based communities have been outstanding, particularly Samaritan’s Purse and Convoy of Hope. World Central Kitchen has also done extraordinary work, and I’ll be a fan of Chef José Ramón Andrés, WCK’s founder, for life. Most importantly, neighbors have been helping neighbors while being neighborly. If Helene blew me away with her force, the Asheville community has blown me away with its resiliency, grit, and goodness.
Fortunately, none of Asheville’s beautiful trees fell on my home. Other than significant damage to two retaining walls in my backyard, we came through unscathed. While the recovery has been slow, it’s also been steady. Our spigots work again, but we have an ongoing “boil water” rule in effect. We can, though, use the non-potable water to do laundry, wash dishes, and flush. We just can’t drink it unless we boil it first.
The Lesson Learned in Asheville
It’ll take me a while to process the lessons I’ve learned riding out this experience, which I’ll include in a future blog. I will say two things, though. First, Mother Nature is an equalizer. She doesn’t care about your socioeconomic background or educational pedigree. If you’re standing in her way, she will mow you the hell down. Second, while the good folks who live in this part of North Carolina have been significantly inconvenienced by Helene, there are people in war-ravaged places like Ukraine and Gaza who have lived this way, or worse, for years. My burden was lessened knowing that others have experienced far worse than me. My heart goes out to them, and to all the families who have lost loved ones because of Hurricane Helene.
Next time you experience a life-altering event, what will you take away from it?
