People in western North Carolina are learning to use power tools two years after Hurricane Helene. They want to be prepared for future disasters.
Transcript
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The East Coast of the U.S. is being battered by a powerful nor’easter this weekend. But further south, lessons are being learned from recovery efforts after another major storm, Hurricane Helene. In North Carolina, the steady hum and roar of the chainsaw was a reassuring sound for many after Helene brought destruction to the western part of the state two years ago. Volunteers used these tools to cut up trees and help restore road access at a time when much of the region was cut off. Blue Ridge Public Radio’s Laura Hackett reports on how Helene has inspired more people to learn the ways of the chainsaw.
LAURA HACKETT, BYLINE: When a fallen tree blocked the only road into Shelby Treichler’s neighborhood, she was in the middle of moving.
SHELBY TREICHLER: So I go out and all I’ve got in my truck is, like, a handsaw. And I’m like, well, I can at least get some of these big branches off and try to, like, clear one lane.
HACKETT: Then a man in sandals stepped out of a truck with a chainsaw and started bucking a tree.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHAINSAW BUZZING)
HACKETT: As neighbors joined the scene, Treichler captured the moment on video.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TREICHLER: That was so fast.
(LAUGHTER)
TREICHLER: Community.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Dude.
TREICHLER: People just came out of nowhere. I didn’t even know we had that many, like, close neighbors.
HACKETT: All over western North Carolina, there were unofficial chainsaw brigades who helped bail a lot of people out. And their service has inspired many, says Quetzal Jordan. She’s an instructor with the Skills Academy for Women.
QUETZAL JORDAN: Seeing how important these skills are firsthand, like, wow. The difference in between me getting to my safe space tonight is knowing how to use a chainsaw or not.
HACKETT: Jordan says she has trained more than 500 people since Helene, and she’s seen continued interest from people who want to learn how to use the tool safely.
JORDAN: This is something that I’m personally really passionate about. Like, we need everyone to be skilled when it comes to emergency response. And it doesn’t matter what your gender is.
HACKETT: One woman who signed up for chainsaw classes is Sarah Seiler. The 53-year-old volunteers already on a search-and-rescue team and lives on 40 acres in the mountains near Asheville. Here she is at a chainsaw class put on by a local community college.
SARAH SEILER: OK. PPE – helmet, eye protection, gloves, chaps, long sleeves, boots.
HACKETT: In the Pisgah National Forest – a site with many, many downed trees – she’s learning to plan her cuts in advance.
SEILER: I guess I need to go straight down.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHAINSAW BUZZING)
SEILER: But it is hard to find a little bit. And I put a wedge in here.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Absolutely.
SEILER: And then come in.
HACKETT: Seiler says the experience has been powerful.
SEILER: You feel like you can take care of yourself, which is fantastic. And then the new skills we have learned here, there’s so much more I would be able to do to help people out.
HACKETT: These chainsaw classes are one piece of a larger movement that sees tools as a form of climate resilience. While western North Carolina is no longer in emergency response mode, more residents are keeping their tools maintained and on hand just in case.
For NPR News, I’m Laura Hackett in Asheville.
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