Six months since Hurricane Helene, Ashe County residents struggling to rebuild

Nearly six months after Hurricane Helene, some
western North Carolina communities are still struggling to get clean water.

In Ashe County, 100 miles from
Asheville, Michelle Denny is struggling to repair her family home that’s
been passed down through generations.

Denny said Sept. 27, 2024, the day Helene destroyed her grandmother’s Fleetwood home, feels like yesterday. She has lived there her entire life. 

“They had to come around here and come to the
front door by boat,” Denny said, describing the day she was rescued. “They had to come here by boat because all of this was
underwater.”

Devastating floodwaters nearly took Denny’s home off its foundation. Months after the storm, she’s dealing with severe mold damage.

“I keep this room closed off [and] sealed from the
bottom so the mold isn’t so bad,” Denny said. “But if you bend down and pick
up something, you know, like if I drop something on the ground, the mold will
knock you out.”

Denny has lived in poor conditions in her home for months, going without running water because of well water contamination. She isn’t able to use the bathroom inside her house, so she created a makeshift toilet.

“I just put a
couple of cinderblocks that were already in here just for the base and sit down
on it,” Denny said. “That was it. What can you do?”

Denny has spent months trying to get her well water tested and running again.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it’s a well owner’s
responsibility to deliver safe drinking water to their household. Denny is currently awaiting test results from her well.

“We’re supposed to get results back from that, but that’s been
scary,” she said. “I have not touched it. I don’t give it to my animals.”

When Helene tore through western North Carolina, Ashe County alone
saw millions of dollars
in destruction, leaving hundreds of homes damaged or
destroyed. 

For some residents like Denny, those homes hold a lot of memories.

“I’m fourth generation,” Denny said. “My mother passed it on
to me in exchange for care for her. My childhood was in this home. Growing up, [it] was my
first for everything. I can’t explain it.”

Helene volunteer Wendy Vanoy said a lot of people in
the Fleetwood area, like Denny, live in properties that have been passed down in the
same family, which creates an issue when it comes to paperwork.

“Names are never changed on the property,” Vanoy said. “That creates issues when FEMA comes in. It’s more red tape, and they are
in such need now that we don’t have time for red tape. We ask for forgiveness
after you do it.”

Vanoy teamed up with others to get Michelle a camper so she can live more comfortably while Habitat for Humanity works to repair her home. 

“I took everything that I could from the house,” Denny said. “The dog’s bed, the cat’s bed. I’ve got this beautiful picture of my mom and dad
that my dad built out of my papa’s ruby chestnut barn.”

Denny said she smiled for the first time since the storm once help arrived.

“In the past few weeks I went from feeling devastated and pretty
depressed, but I kept hanging on and I knew that God had something for me,” Denny said. “I
knew it, but I didn’t know if it was going to be 10 years down the road. I was
just going to hang on for dear life … and then it just turned around and all of these wonderful people came into my life.”

She credits her mountain roots for surviving.

“Growing up in that environment, it toughens you,” Denny said. “I think that’s what helps me survive today. It is.” 

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