Real-time updates: Queen City News travels with NC Air National Guard to Western NC communities hit hard by Helene

ASHEVILLE, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — Queen City News is traveling with the North Carolina Air National Guard on Monday as critical supplies are starting to reach Western North Carolina communities hit hard by devastating Hurricane Helene.

Countless emergency crews continue to make progress this week toward restoring power, providing cell phone service, and repairing area roads.

Food, water, and other needs are arriving in Asheville Monday and also being airlifted by the North Carolina National Guard into counties across Western North Carolina.

Cellphone providers are working to fix the damage and get stopgap solutions in place and rapid progress is being made. Across the region, more than 500,000 customers remain without power, down from a peak of more than one million on Friday.

“People are desperate for help — and we are pushing to get it to them. Please know that we are sending resources, and coordinating closely with local governments, first responders, state and federal partners, and volunteer organizations to help those impacted by this tragic storm,” Governor Cooper said over the weekend. “This is an unprecedented tragedy.”

NC National Guard members are working alongside local emergency responders conducting search and rescue missions, delivering needed supplies, and helping to restore infrastructure. Approximately 550 North Carolina National Guard personnel have been deployed in response to the storm, along with more than 100 vehicles and 11 aircraft.

Twenty-four emergency shelters have opened, providing capacity for 942 residents. Shelter information can be found here .

First responders have received hundreds of calls for rescue and more than 1,000 requests for welfare checks. State search and rescue teams have conducted hundreds of rescues and are being assisted by teams from more than a dozen other states.

More than 1,600 North Carolina Department of Transportation employees and contract crews are working to clear roads and get them open again, but 280 state-maintained roads remain closed including parts of Interstate 40 and Interstate 26.

NCDOT is getting food and water supply trucks, power and cellphone utility trucks, and other vehicles through damaged roads and into Western North Carolina.

People are urged to stay off Western North Carolina roads so that emergency responders, utility crews, and desperately needed supplies can get through.

Real-time road conditions are available here.

Federal Major Disaster Declaration

The federal government granted Gov. Cooper’s request for a Federal Major Disaster Declaration, providing immediate help for 25 NC counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians .

This disaster declaration will provide both individual assistance for people living in those counties and public assistance to reimburse local governments, state agencies, and non-profits for funds spent repairing facilities and infrastructure.

Additional information about these resources can be found here or by calling 1-800-621-3362.

MORE FROM QCNEWS.COM

Helene Aftermath

‘Do not travel to Western NC’: I-40 is impassable in several locations, I-26 is closed at the Tennessee state line

Beech Mountain residents without power, internet access following Helene; under a boil water advisory

700,000+ Duke Energy customers without power in the Carolinas after Helene

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