SWANNANOA, N.C. — $750 in “immediate relief” announced by Vice President Kamala Harris will help the small town in western North Carolina that was hit hard by Hurricane Helen more than three weeks ago, according to conversations with volunteers and local residents. It has become an ongoing joke in town.
In the Appalachian valleys of North Carolina, thousands of residents lost everything they owned and fled, leaving only the clothes on their backs and their loved ones — if they survived.
Local businesses are either completely destroyed or closed. The nearest supermarket, Ingles, is closed and the parking lot is covered in dust.
The closest major city, Asheville, is about a 20-minute drive, but is inaccessible to those who don't have a car or have lost their car. Many businesses in Asheville are also closed due to flooding, power outages, and water outages.
Hotels in the area are full and cost about $200 per room per night. Many residents are camping in tents, fearing their land will be confiscated on land that their families have lived on for generations.
So even if a resident applied for $750 and was approved, there would be nowhere to spend it.
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“How are they going to spend it? They can't eat it. This is a slap in the face,” said Savage, an entirely grassroots volunteer-run operation started by former Green Beret Adam Smith. – Aaron Switzer, a special operations veteran who volunteers with Operation Freedom Rescue.
After the hurricane hit on September 27, volunteer groups conducted the first search and rescue operations for missing people and residents who were unable to leave their homes after roads were completely washed away. They also airlifted food, water, medicine, generators, Starlink mobile satellite dishes, and other critical supplies to those in need.
Search and rescue is nearly complete and they are now focused on making sure residents have what they need to survive, especially as temperatures rapidly drop.
On Tuesday night, the group ensured insulin and a generator to stay warm were provided to disabled veterans whose homes had been damaged. They planned to return Wednesday morning to check on him, make sure he had everything he needed, and find out what repairs needed to be made to the house.
Residents also drive to their locations at the Harley-Davidson warehouse and grounds, known as Forward Operating Base (FOB) Savage, to pick up supplies from generators, hay for livestock, and other supplies. Residents can also do their laundry there from mobile trailers.
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The group also operates the region's only Helicopter Landing Zone (HLZ), where volunteer pilots once conducted dozens of missions a day. Eventually, the Federal Aviation Administration recognized them as official HLZs, and the U.S. military now uses them as well.
The FOB is currently home to dozens of active-duty military personnel and members of the North Carolina National Guard participating in relief efforts. There are also SpaceX and Tesla employees there.
Smith said FEMA has been largely ineffective.
As for the federal aid itself, FEMA didn't enter town until Thursday afternoon, during the first week of relief efforts. They sent out a search and rescue team Saturday morning. The search and rescue team is a contractor search and rescue team, they are firefighters, just like us. [but] It was not until Thursday evening that disaster relief and assistance personnel actually arrived in the area.
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“The problem I have with this issue is their poor planning and ineffective approach. No one knew who they were, no one knew why they were there, no one knew they were a place to come and register to receive relief and assistance,” he said.
“And to take it a step further, the aid they provided is $750 per person, but at the end of the day it doesn't help anything,” he said. “That's $750. What does $750 do to anyone when the stores aren't open and the gas stations aren't open for two whole weeks? It doesn't even pay the bills for the vast majority of people. It doesn't do anything. It's not even a bandaid on the wound.”
“I'm not saying don't do it. I'm saying there's a better way,” he added.
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Kim Burleson, a breast cancer patient who lives in the mountains of Newland, North Carolina, said she applied for $750 online but was denied.
“I applied to FEMA and was denied,” she told Breitbart News. “I don't know why it was rejected.”
She was allowed to stay overnight, but said it wasn't necessary because her home was still intact. She spent two weeks without power until she received a generator donation from a local volunteer group.
When asked who the FEMA money would go to, she replied: “Probably Ukraine. Other countries too.”
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