ASHEVILLE - Rebecca Casey, 80, of Swannanoa, made it to the emergency shelter at Harrah’s Cherokee Center just after 8:30 a.m. Sept. 27 with help from a friendly stranger.
Casey, who lives on the campus of Warren Wilson College, evacuated to the Quality Inn on Tunnel Road Sept. 26.
She told the Citizen Times she’s lived in the same home on Warren Wilson’s campus, where her husband worked as a professor, in 2004 when tropical depression Frances moved through the area. Casey said a tree fell on her neighbor’s home during that storm, and she didn’t want to take any chances with Hurricane Helene, which has now been downgraded to a tropical storm, as its gusty winds and heavy rains began pummeling the area. She estimated that her home is surrounded by 40 to 50 trees.
In the early morning hours Sept. 27, Buncombe County ordered a mandatory evacuation order from the North Fork Reservoir, where water breached the spillway, to Biltmore Village along the Swannanoa River.
In response, Casey left the Quality Inn and drove downtown, following a line of cars with out-of-state license plates, she said. She was stalled by an accident, but finally made it to Harrah’s where the City of Asheville has set up an emergency shelter.
Pulling up in front of Harrah’s, she told the Citizen Times she didn’t know what to do. She started shaking, when a man wearing a cap and a long neon yellow rain jacket hopped in the back of her car and helped her navigate to Harrah’s parking garage.
From there, the man, who only identified himself as Paul to the Citizen Times, held Casey’s hand and walked her up Vanderbilt Place onto Haywood Street and into the lobby of Harrah’s.
“He got me all the way here,” Casey said through tears. “I don’t think I could have done it by myself.”
Need shelter?
Emergency helter is available at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, 87 Haywood St., in downtown Asheville.
Explore Asheville has listed below local lodging that are welcoming residents displaced by Helene. Call directly and inquire about local booking and rates with the manager on duty. You may be asked for proof of residency at check-in.
AC Hotel (Downtown) - (828) 258-2522
Aloft Asheville (Downtown) - (828) 232-2838
Baymont Inn and Suites - (828) 274-2022
Best Western Asheville - (828) 298-5562
Biltmore Farms Hotels - (828) 274-8707
Brookstone Lodge - (828) 398-5888
Cambria Hotel (Downtown) - (828) 348-4850
Candlewood Suites Downtown - (828) 220-0300
Clarion Inn Biltmore Village - (828) 274-0101
Country Inn and Suites Asheville Downtown Tunnel Road - (828) 254-4311
Country Inn and Suites, Asheville River Arts District - (828) 772-3188
Courtyard by Marriott Asheville Airport - (828) 684-5000
Courtyard by Marriott Biltmore Village - (828) 782-5000
Crowne Plaza Asheville - (828) 254-3211
DoubleTree by Hilton Asheville - Biltmore - (828) 274-1800
DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown - (828) 274-1800
Element Downtown - (828) 575-5881
Embassy Suites Downtown - (828) 407-0422
Fairfield Inn and Suites Tunnel Road - (828) 274-2001
The Flat Iron Hotel - (828) 579-2106
Four Points by Sheraton - (828) 253-1851
GLo Hotel Asheville - (828) 417-9300
Hampton Inn and Suites (Biltmore Area) - (828) 575-9593
Hampton Inn and Suites (Biltmore Village) - (828) 277-1800
Hampton Inn Asheville - Tunnel Road - (828) 255-9220
Haywood Park Hotel - (828) 232-8217
Hilton Asheville (Biltmore Park) - (828) 209-2700
Hilton Garden Inn Asheville South - (828) 633-6024
Holiday Inn Asheville (Biltmore West) - (828) 665-2161
Holiday Inn Express and Suites (Downtown) - (828) 225-5550
Holiday Inn Express Asheville (Woodfin) - (828) 367-9650
Home2Suites by Hilton - (828) 676-1776
Homewood Suites by Hilton - (828) 252-5400
Hotel Indigo (Downtown) - (828) 239-0239
Kimpton Hotel Arras - (828) 255-0303
Laurel Mountain Retreat - (828) 417-4835
Moxy Park Hotel - (828) 949-0179
Renaissance Asheville Downtown - (828) 252-8211
Residence Inn Biltmore - (828) 281-3361
River Row Flats - (828) 734-3375
Scenic Hotel at Biltmore Village - (828) 277-0036
SpringHill Suites and Courtyard - (828) 253-4666
TownePlace Suites Downtown - (828) 407-4200
Tru by Hilton - (828) 417-9700
This story was updated to add new information, to meet our standards, and to add a video.
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Jacob Biba is the county watchdog reporter at the Asheville Citizen Times. Reach him at jbiba@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Tropical Storm Helene evacuees head to Harrah's Cherokee downtown Asheville for shelter
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