‘Trying not to cry:’ Helene’s wrath sets new normal in battered western North Carolina town

Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part series from News13 reporters Adrianna Lawrence and Eric Cooper, who traveled into western North Carolina last week as part of a supply run from Myrtle Beach.

LAKE LURE, N.C. (WBTW) — Kyle Katona has lived through his share of hurricanes. But nothing could ready him for the wrath Helene unleashed across the idyllic valleys of western North Carolina.

“I’ve never seen the amount of devastation that Hurricane Helene caused in the mountains,” the Four Seasons hospice store driver said.

He wasn’t alone.

“I don’t think anybody was prepared for the level of catastrophe that was going to occur,” said Rikki Hooper, Four Seasons’ clinical operations officer.

Traumatized residents awoke to the sound of water coursing into their homes before the sun came up — taking everything and, in some heartbreaking instances, everyone, with it.

“Nobody should have to go through this,” said Polk County residents Pixie and Deena Moore said.

Discolored tree lines 10 to 20 feet high in some places peppered the landscape amid rows of utility vehicles and overturned cars caked in debris were stark reminders of Helene’s total destruction.

At Lake Lure — a beloved vacation spot minutes from Chimney Rock — mud stands in for where water once flowed.

Instead, officials and first responders were providing medical treatment. Military helicopters flicked across the sky and bulldozers cleared out areas.

If it sounds like a warzone, that’s because it was as close as it could be to one, Pixie Moore said.

“Just last week, people were shopping and going on the beach and having fun. But nobody knew that two days later, it would be all gone,” Pixie Moore said. “There would be nothing left.”

Chimney Rock — the 102-year-old village known for its rustic cabins and Airbnb getaways offering picturesque mountainside views — is gone.

“Two weeks ago, we went through Chimney Rock. We went to Chimney Rock every time we started in Hendersonville,” Deena Moore said. “We can’t go there anymore.”

Some living higher up in the mountains remain homebound.

KJ Jordan, a Myrtle Beach resident, spent part last week driving supplies into the region. He grew up in western North Carolina and couldn’t believe its new reality.

“This is our family up here. I mean, just so many memories. Trying not to cry right now. Just so many memories,” he said.

Jordan and others say they the wreckage is going to haunt them.

“What we’ve seen so far is just a very, very, very small fraction of everything going on,” he said.

On Tuesday, News13’s Adrianna Lawrence will report on how thousands of relief supplies donated by Grand Strand residents are being delivered.

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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12 . See more of his work here .

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Adrianna Lawrence is a multimedia journalist at News13. Adrianna is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and joined the News13 team in June 2023 after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2023. Keep up with Adrianna on Instagram, Facebook , and X, formerly Twitter . You can also read more of her work, here .

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Eric Cooper is a multimedia journalist at News13. He joined the team in September 2024 and covers stories in the Pee Dee. He is a native of Cades in Williamsburg County and a proud graduate of Kingstree Senior High School and Benedict College. You can read more of his work here .

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