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On Friday morning, Sept. 27, Renata Dos Santos, surveyed the damage Hurricane Helene did to RiverGirl Fishing Co., a fishing outfitter and guide service she and Kelly McCoy co-own in the small community of Todd, 20 minutes northeast from Boone. 

“In the seven minute drive over here, the entire landscape had changed,” Dos Santos said. 

RiverGirl is located inside a historic train depot that sits near Elk Creek. The depot remained stable when the creek flooded; however, a metal building that stored most of their equipment such as generators, bikes and kayaks was demolished.

“When we pulled into the shop…the depot was still intact, but when we came around to the back, the metal building that we had that stored all of our gear and equipment, had just been crumpled to shreds. Everything that was in it was no longer in there except a red towel,” Dos Santos said. 

The sight was overwhelming, Dos Santos described. But the women started collecting displaced items one by one – items that were not swept away into the creek and later, into the New River. 

A week after Hurricane Helene ravaged the Todd community and western North Carolina, Dos Santos and McCoy received a message that a crew with skid steers and excavators was in Boone, needing an assignment – quickly- before they headed back home. That crew was the combination of Barrow Landscaping and Barrow Construction. Dos Santos spoke with Dylan Barrow that same evening and explained what needed to be done. 

 Barrow Landscaping is based in Rocky Mount while Barrow Construction has several locations in eastern North Carolina, including Washington. Their main office is located in Greenville. 

Dos Santos says the Barrow crew has been a “Godsend” since their first visit. 

“I don’t even know where we would be without their help,” she said. 

The Barrow crew, with assistance from several other organizations, has worked to make roadways accessible in Todd and surrounding areas as well as removing vehicles from the river. What some suggested could be done in weeks or months, the Barrow crew was able to do in mere days. 

“They were able to accomplish a lot of the heavier jobs other folks had taken a look at and said it could take anywhere from weeks to months just to repair or remove some of the items. [Barrow] just looked at it and said ‘yep, no problem.’ And just tackled it and got it done,” Dos Santos said. 

The Barrow crew has made at least three trips to the Boone area and more are planned. They are paying for their own hotel, food and gas. Todd, by the way, is a four-and-a-half hour trip one way from Washington. 

It has been 36 days since the Helene caused catastrophic damage to western North Carolina. It is Dos Santos’ hope that as people begin to prepare for the holiday season and colder months, they won’t forget about residents in western North Carolina who still need help. 

“This is going to be going on for months and months to come,” Dos Santos said. “We cannot forget.” 

To send a monetary donation to residents of Todd, visit https://www.blackburnschapelumc.com. To donate to RiverGirl Fishing Co, visit, https://www.gofundme.com/f/rebuild-rivergirl-fishing-after-hurricane-helene?lang=en_GB&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

According to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s Office, approximately 5,000 people are without power as of Oct. 21. Just after the storm, more than one million customers were without power. Of the estimated 1,200 roads that were closed by NC Dept. of Transportation, 789 have reopened. Twenty-eight school districts that closed following the storm have reopened with seven still closed. Two of the seven were scheduled to re-open last week. The North Carolina National Guard soldiers and other military personnel rescued 765 people with local first responders and swift water rescue teams rescuing hundreds more, the governor’s office stated. 

 

Ninety-five deaths have been confirmed by the state as of Oct. 21. There are approximately 26 people still unaccounted for.