Flight ride-along leads to communication with Black Mtn. community cut off in storm

HIGH ROCK ACRES, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — Some Black Mountain communities have finally been able to receive support from airdrop missions, nearly a week after Tropical Storm Helene crumbled Western North Carolina.

That help has been arriving through private pilots and governmental air assistance.

Wednesday morning roughly 50 pilots and their crews listed in on a mission briefing at the Hickory Regional Airport, a base of operations.

Many of these pilots traveled from across the country to help in rescue and recovery efforts, while many are from the very communities impacted by the storm.

Jordan Seidhm is among those who’ve answered the call for help.

Queen City News covered his rescue attempts over the weekend, which were stopped when he was treated with an arrest during one of his operations.

He said that he’s “been coming out every morning doing some rescue missions. I’ve normally been trying to coordinate to try and knock out three or four each flight.”

Wednesday flights included trips to the Black Mountain area to drop food and supplies to families, while also delivering Starlink internet spots for communities who’ve been digitally cut off for days.

Flight crews were told they could not operate between 1:00 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. as President Joe Biden toured the hardest hit areas.

That gave crews, like Jordans, only a small window to reach families.

Jordan stressed, “We’re going to get in as quick as we can and try to get out before they shut the airspace down.”

Queen City News road with him on two of the three missions he was given.

The first one was for a wellness check on a couple in their 80s in the Black Mountain region.

The couple’s family in Florida had not heard from them since the day of the storm.

When on the ground, Jordan found the couple frustrated but alive. Their home saw damage from downed trees, which, at one point, blocked much of their driveway.

They refused to be evacuated by air and explained that their community had daily meetings to assess the damage. However, they explained they were desperate for fuel for their vehicles and medicine they were both required to take every day.

While Jordan could not give immediate help, he was able to take down their medical information and pass along their message of medical help.

The second stop was a surprise visit to families in the High Rock Acres neighborhood of Black Mountain. These families were not expecting a drop but said they were blessed to have received the help.

Lib Mullinnix is one of those and said, “This was my first to see and I was about ready to cry.”

The community is said to consist of roughly 100 homes and has been essentially cut off since the storm.

No homes received significant damage, but they have been without power, and supplies, like fuel for generators, were running thin.

Melinda Halpert, who is the president of the road maintenance association in the community, said they expect to be without power for a month or more.

“We simply do not have any roads,” she explained.

The main access road was washed out over the weekend. A small bridge was installed, but that has become unsteady.

This small community said it held long enough for ATVs to deliver some essentials, but would not be able to be used much longer.

Harper stressed that even through the uncertainty and stress, they have banded together as a community.

“Our neighborhood High Rock Acres, off of Highway 9 and Black Mountain is going to go down in history as one of the most organized, community-oriented places on earth to manage to survive such a disaster as this.”

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