ASHEVILLE — Trapped in the station by fallen trees, offline, with no power, no water and negligible cell phone reception, a team of local broadcasters stayed on air as Tropical Storm Helene brought flooding and devastation to Western North Carolina.
A week and a half later, they're still there, fielding nonstop phone calls from community members and trying to connect those with needs to those with the skills and resources to fill them.
It began Sept. 27, as News Director and morning show host Mark Starling rode out Tropical Storm Helene in iHeartRadio's West Asheville studio. Miles away, his wife, Brandee, was braced in a SUV with their son and four dogs at the Citgo station in Black Mountain, watching waves come over the top of the I-40 overpass. She'd been trying to get to the studio.
The couple had spoken that morning before the worst of the storm rocked WNC. That would be the last time they heard each other's voices until reuniting on air days later.
Starling has left the station only briefly in the days since the storm began, his nights spent sleeping on a blow-up mattress in the conference room. His family is now staying in Atlanta, with his wife, a mental health counselor, calling in occasionally to offer coping tips and join him in assuring listeners that "it's OK not to feel OK."
It's a big change from the music and political talk radio formats that the iHeart Asheville team followed before the storm.
“There was not an intention to turn storm coverage into what it’s turned into, it naturally and organically just went that way," Starling told the Citizen Times Oct. 6.
For many, it has become a lifeline as WWNC and the six other stations owned by iHeart, based out of the West Asheville studio dubbed "Radio Ranch," simulcast coverage of the disaster. As Starling described it, the broadcast stations have turned into a rescue, relief and recovery network. People call in looking for connection, for solace, to get the word out about missing loved ones or ask for tips — like leads on heavy equipment that could help clear mud out of devastated towns.
Others call to offer free help with removing trees blocking driveway or obtaining insulin or other needed medications.
Starling repeatedly has said the iHeart team is just the conduit for a community coming together to help itself.
“I don’t know that you could find a group that could mobilize and roll out as fast as Western North Carolinians can roll out and mobilize for themselves," Starling said. "It's an incredible thing to watch."
'Help is on the way'
Some callers try to help in any way they can. As the Oct. 6 morning show wound down, one named Bill said he couldn't work a chainsaw, but he could sing. He offered a few verses of "Amazing Grace" in a resonant baritone.
Starling, WWNC morning host, choking up, asked if someone who "does not have a frog in their throat" could take over.
Co-host Eddie Foxx, of 99.9 FM Kiss Country, stepped in. Producer Tank Spencer followed up to direct a message to an earlier caller, Pat, an 82-year-old widow in East Asheville, whose home was destroyed: "Pat, if you're still listening, help is on the way. Our crew is coming out."
The station has established teams on the ground, Starling said, coordinating with a community member, Chris Henderson, who called in to say he was doing wellness checks with information he heard from callers on the radio. Henderson suggested they combine forces.
Starling said that every day, the station sends Henderson lists of people reported missing, received via email or callers, and in the last week, they've located 83 families, letting loved ones know they are safe, and helped deliver supplies or send out volunteer chainsaw crews to clear debris for people stranded in their homes.
Buncombe County also has established a Family Assistance Center to assist in finding and connecting with residents who might be missing or cannot be reached.
After the morning show Oct. 6, looking for fresh air on the studio's concrete stoop, Starling ran into listener Matthew Supley, who was bringing him a plastic bag of clean socks. In turn, Starling carried a case of bottled water out to Supley's car.
Blackout after Helene
In the immediate aftermath of the storm, after internet and cell service went down and generators kicked on to keep power going, Starling said, he and Spencer were left sitting in shock. At a loss, they went back on air, trying to cobble together information the best they could.
The next day, Starling said a friend, Andy Suhren, arrived with two ham radio transceivers in tow. From there, they tapped into the amateur radio operators network — getting information on active rescues, rising waters and as many firsthand accounts as possible.
The station relayed the information to listeners.
"It saved us and I think they saved lives," Starling said. "People heeded the warnings."
At 7:30 p.m. that Saturday, Starling saw something he described as "absolutely glorifying:" Two corporate engineers from the iHeart emergency team walking down the studio's hallway, a Starlink satellite internet unit strapped to their backs that would restore the station's online connection to the outside world.
'A place for people'
The goal of the round-the-clock broadcasts, Starling said, is to provide "a place for people."
“Their calls go through my head every day ... they stick with you," he said. "The pain that these people have endured, that we’ve all endured — some have endured a whole hell of a lot more than others — but we’ve all endured something. It’s been traumatic for every single person who had to sit through this wretched storm.”
Officials have described the storm as causing "biblical devastation." In Buncombe County, 72 deaths had been confirmed as of Oct. 4. The death toll in Western North Carolina had risen to at least 108 people.
When cell service blinked out and thousands were left without power and water, people turned to radio. It has not been uncommon, in the days since, to see cars with windows rolled down and doors open, radios blaring as neighbors clustered around to listen.
“I think it’s really shown a lot of people who might have forgotten about radio, or maybe just didn’t listen to the radio much anymore, it’s shown them that there is a need in our world for it," Starling said. "Because when it came right down to it, when that storm was going on, it was the only medium that was left that was able to get people information.”
Where to hear the latest information about Helene recovery
Buncombe County officials are holding news briefings each day at 4 p.m. The briefings are streamed live on thecounty's Facebook page and broadcasted on Blue Ridge Public Radio at 88.1 FM. You can also listen on the iHeart radio stations, including 99.9, 104.3 and 105.1 FM and 570 AM.
More: Neighbors rescued neighbors in WNC's Barnardsville as Helene stormed through
Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times .
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Helene trapped Asheville broadcasters in their station. They've stayed on air ever since
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