"I've been here for two consecutive weeks," said Poole, ahead of her first trip back to Virginia since portions of Helene pummeled western North Carolina on September 27, 2024. "I'm reworking my home life so I can move out here part-time to help with this effort until it's done."
Despite life-saving efforts provided under the purview of Restoration Church in Willow Springs, N.C., Poole repeatedly emphasized the totality of lives lost from Helene. She further noted the "abhorrently incorrect" number of fatalities being reported by mainstream media.
"Our guys have found bodies everywhere" continued Poole while sifting through a semi-trailer full of donations. "Anyone who's been in this area knows how inaccurately Helene is being reported. And because of that, people don't know how much help we desperately need."
Notwithstanding their search, rescue, and recovery operations throughout the mountains of Buncombe County, N.C., volunteers are pleading with the public for skilled labor and large equipment at "OPERATIONS COMMAND:" 90 Buckeye Access Road in Swannanoa, N.C.
"The less manpower we have, the more death there will be," maintained Poole. "We have entire communities that are relying on us to bring medication and keep their generators fueled... But as we get to working in the snow, I'm worried that our volunteers are going to dwindle out."
As of this publishing, much-needed supplies in western North Carolina include generators, storage totes, extension cords, water testing strips, battery-powered heaters, battery-powered radios and propane tanks of all sizes. An Amazon wishlist is furthermore available here.
"What we've experienced here is a catastrophic disaster," concluded Poole. "If you only have a day or two to give, it's better than nothing... But If we're down to ten volunteers standing around our burn barrel at the end of the month, we're going to be in serious, serious trouble."
Anyone interested in donating time, money, or additional resources to Helene-related relief relief efforts in Buncombe County, N.C., is encouraged to visit Restoration Church's disaster relief landing page.
This story may be updated.
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.