A Visit to Burnsville, NC 10/17/25
Hard Times Continue in Burnsville, NC -
We heard accounts about the living situation and saw the current conditions in various parts of Western NC today when we took a filled truck, with attached trailer, up to help the relief effort in Burnsville, NC.
The now tame river flowed along beside us as we drove along Hwy 19. Huge piles of trees and branches stretch along the river bank one after another 30’ high x 50’ long. Hundreds of yards of land on either side of the river are tan from the mud drying into sand and soil. Hundreds of yards out away from the river, pieces of clothing are still caught high up in branches of remaining trees, illustrating how high and far reaching this normally small, calm river actually rose, becoming in speed and intensity more like an ocean that swept through the mountainside, carrying anything in its path whether people, animals, houses, or trees, along with it.
Yancey County was hit very hard, with unimaginable tragedy upon tragedy of families being washed away by, and drowning in, the sudden rivers of mud.
Teams continue to go out on daily rescue missions crawling and digging through the mud, sadly now for bodies, instead of for survivors.
Communication between people and locations within the same county is very limited. I asked one of the main volunteers who was directing activity at the fire station, how the other fire station in town was doing on supplies, and if we should take some of the supplies over there. With a sad smile and shrug, she replied, “I honestly have no idea. That is 10 miles away. Our phones don’t work, and gas is scarce. I volunteer here every day from morning to night. Right now the operation in this parking lot is my whole world. “
These residents are tough, resilient, and prayerful people who are facing this adversity with fortitude and courage. We saw neighbors helping neighbors. We heard many stories of people living in tents, or ten people from various families, who are living in a barn together and making a fire in the middle of the barn at night to help keep warm.
A volunteer will drop some supplies off on the side of what was once a mountain road winding up the mountainside to a community of homes. Another volunteer will come with his 4-wheeler and carry those same supplies up the trail as far as he can. People from will then hike down and carry items back up to their homes. This process repeats over and over.
A group drove all the way from Wyoming with teams of supply mules. Each day they load the mules with supplies, then lead the mules up through the mountains to secluded areas, bringing much needed relief to the desperately cold and hungry.
A helicopter landed while we were there, picking up supplies to drop at a location where people are stranded on top of a mountain top.
As we approached our designated drop off spot, the West Yancey County Fire Department on Hwy 19 in Burnsville, NC, we could see that the parking lot and surrounding field were filled with large piles of supplies.
The huge Fire Department parking lot was a bee hive of activity.
It was very well organized. A bevy of local volunteers worked the station tirelessly from the frigid dawn until the cold twilight. They facilitated the dropping off and the picking up of supplies. The process ran very smoothly and as quickly as possible. To keep traffic moving in only one direction, someone met your vehicle at the road and guided you in the correct direction. You were speedily met with smiles and helping hands. From assistance in parking to the business of dropping off or picking up supplies, every one was extremely friendly and repeatedly thanked us for the donations.
In the field behind the station house, mules munched on green grass. Several tents were set up, with camp chairs and campfires in front of each. The occupants were the very kind souls that had driven from Wyoming.
Out front were stacks of donated propane tanks, grills, heaters, and cookstoves.
Many outside stalls, made of tents, or of tarps and poles, marched side by side around the large perimeter of the fire department. There were stalls for baby supplies, dog food, hygiene, canned goods, and even one with pre-boxed meals.
There were stacks of towels, toilet paper, kitchen pans, crates of clothes, some shoes, and blankets separated into individual stacks covered with tarps.
They have a difficult time trying to preserve fabric items because there is no inside building for them to be stored, so it must sit outside in piles covered with tarps. Early cold seeps into your bones while standing outside, and dampens any items not wrapped in plastic. Sending clothing and shoes in labeled plastic containers ensures that they can keep them there, otherwise they just have no way of accepting them.
The entire West Yancey Fire Department operation was a very impressive display of ingenuity and cooperation.
Many residents have been told that they will not have power for up to four more months, so even though the parking lot is filled with stacks of supplies right now, those will dwindle quickly over the coming winter months.
No jobs, no economy, and with about 40 families still stranded up in different locations as a dark, cold winter approaches, Yancey County has a very difficult future to traverse.
However, witnessing the community in action today makes me realize that somehow, they will get through it.
