QCN flies with NC National Guard to survey Helene damage

NORTH CAROLINA ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — On Friday, October 4th, QCN Photojournalist Brian Christiansen flew on an NC National Guard Blackhawk helicopter from Salisbury, all the way to the collapsed I-40 highway and back.

He flew 2 missions in 12 hours with local & state emergency management who were surveying the flooding damage.

Their first stop was Rutherford County where they picked up law enforcement and fire officials. Next was Lake Lure. They flew completely around the shores of the entire lake. “Every few minutes I turned around and could see the shock on the faces of the officials,” Brian said.

They flew upriver and saw the damage done to the town of Chimney Rock- several of its buildings, bridges, and roads were gone.

After a full tour of the area, the pilots gained enough elevation so that they were looking down on Chimney Rock, with the American Flag waving in the wind. It almost looked as if it was at half-staff.

The group refueled soon after and made another run along several rivers. Dozens of Twisted timbers lay in every direction up against several bridges that were closed due to the pressure of the wood.

They dropped off the Rutherfordton crew and made their way to Asheville airport where they refueled again. This time, there was an even larger military presence of soldiers, airmen, and every type of military helicopter you could imagine.

Just a few minutes later they left for Waynesville to pick up a second team. It was now 3 p.m. and they had to work fast before the sun would set.

The team surveyed the rivers, scanning the banks for bodies. Fortunately, none were found.

They continued flying west, following the river. The river isn’t a straight line, nor was the flying. They were banking left and right, flying in the right valley with colors of fall beginning to peace at every turn.

The group made their way to a huge dam near Messer Gap, just a few miles from the Tennessee border. Hundreds of downed trees floated there, creating a dam of their own.

Their final view was of collapsed I-40. It’s not just one area of the road that collapsed, it was several.

Below the damaged sections of the highway, banks of the river were littered with tractor-trailer-sized chunks of concrete from the road.

The sun was setting, and they began to turn back.  It was the golden hour, and the fall colors from the mountains were piercing bright. The blazing red maples and other oranges and yellows were a welcomed sight.

After viewing such devastation all day long, those bright and beautiful colors were the one thing the whole crew – and everyone else in our area- needs to see, and feel.

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