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Locals Report: Marooned On A Mountain In North Carolina

    “This is surreal.”
    Mei and Ron Moss generally enjoy summers on the side of a mountain outside of Burnsville, North Carolina away from their Umatilla home.  But the past week has brought about an experience like no other.  The couple and their neighbors - about ten homes in all on Wildflower Lane - have been cut off from the world since the impacts of Hurricane Helene brought devastation to the area.    Since the storm came through late last week, the couple has been without power, unable to traverse away from their home, and until Monday, without cell service.  
    The situation left their loved ones fearing for their safety, and the couple mostly unaware of the devastation wrought around them.
    “It’s very treacherous,” Mei said on Tuesday, checking in after cell service was restored via temporary towers.  “The water took our road, so we’ve been stuck.”
    The couple has been able to secure some supplies and phone charging thanks to a neighbor with a large generator.   But the food in their refrigerator is going bad, a potentially dire situation is being made better mostly by the fact that their son, Brett, and his wife Melissa are on their way from Umatilla to retrieve the couple and ferry them home.
    It won’t be an easy task, as roads have been damaged, power is still out, and Moss said the road up to the house is still mostly impassable.
    “We have had almost thirty inches of rain, and the rain took the road.”
    Moss said a cold front that came through just ahead of Helene dropped eight inches of rain, and then the hurricane immediately followed with 19 inches of its own.  
    It was too much.
    “Everybody is saying Burnsville is a mess,” Mei said. “Someone said we couldn’t even get to Tennessee if we wanted to get out that way.  It’s dangerous, with the possibility of rock and mudslides very high.”
    It gets worse.
    “I heard there was a house floating down the river.  Our roof is leaking, and we had to move our bed away from a leak.   But mostly, we don’t know what is really going on beyond Wildflower Lane.”
    The couple hopes to be back in Umatilla within the week, as long as their ‘relief team’ can reach them OK.  Then, all that’s left to do is recoup and think about the food going bad in the refrigerator, and the repairs that await down the road.
    “We were unprepared for this,” Mei said. “But you don’t expect this kind of thing here.”
    Moss said she appreciates all the prayers and contacts from people who have been checking in since the storm and is thankful she and Ron are OK.
    “We appreciate everyone, and all we have.  Praise God.”