The “technical team” of experienced sawyers—as opposed run-of-the-mill laborers—from Samaritan’s Purse called us out of the blue last week and asked if they could come by and inspect the trees that had been caught up on the landslide. Luckily, we were home, so we said yes. They not only inspected them, they tackled the job. Within eight hours, the trees had been roped up, cut into pieces and the resulting logs lowered down to the flat, but muddy, space below the landslide.
It turns out, the cutting was easy, it was the rope work that proved challenging. In two cases, they used their truck to provide power and weight sufficient to lower the logs.
I have already cut several into rounds and moved the logs to the splitter in my truck. The shorter rounds, which are for the fireplace insert, were so easy to split, I did them by hand. The larger and longer logs are fed onto the splitter.
This is the second time Samaritan’s Purse has shown up to help us, and we are grateful. Grateful enough that my wife sent them a donation.
Road Work
Later in the week, our neighbor did some work on our private road. He used a hydraulic breaker or hammer mounted on the front of his excavator where the bucket goes to break up the boulder that was sticking into the road. While we were hoping this would break the boulder into a few manageable pieces, that was not the case. Instead, he chipped away at it, breaking it into many smaller chunks. Still, the end result was the same, and we now have a road that is wide enough we can drive up and down without worrying we will hit the boulder or end up on the ditch on the other side.
He followed up the rock busting with some more work to widen and smooth the road. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to get any ballast and gravel, so the road remains muddy. Right now, when the temperatures are well below freezing, the mud is solid so we can drive up easily. When it thaws, we’ll have to fight our way up the hill, slipping and sliding despite being in 4WD.
He had some gravel delivered to one of his other jobs, but is still waiting for four or five truckloads there. The gravel is on allotment, with most of it going to the highways and railroad work. Smaller carriers must wait in long lines and the delay makes the cost of gravel more expensive for the end user, meaning folks like us.
Much to be Done
In our little corner of the world, there is still some recovery work to be done. The landslide mud needs to be hauled away and the boulders that slid down the mountain need to be removed, if possible. When spring comes, we need to do some grooming of that area and plant some grass seed so that every rain does not wash more mud into the small flat space that passes as our yard. Our road needs more drainage work, some culverts installed, and more gravel. Our driveway needs gravel and grooming. Then we need to make final repairs on the car port.
There are more leaning trees to cut and fallen trees to cut up, but these are either small enough that I can do them myself or far enough away that they are not a danger to us, our house, or anything else.
Sadly, there are other areas of the state that need far more work than we do. Every time I drive by one, I am reminded of how lucky we were.
Parts of Erwin, Tenn., for example, where the Nolichucky River goes under the interstate suffered terrible flooding and multiple deaths. Last I heard, I-26 had been opened to allow one lane in each direction, but much work remains. If you search for Erwin and Nolichucky flood, you will find plenty of Facebook posts and YouTube videos showing the damage. This is not the only hard-hit area in Tennessee where some roads are still washed out almost three months after the storm hit.
Just this weekend, part of I-40 that connects Tennessee to North Carolina washed away. The original damage was done during the storm, but the road didn’t collapse until the recent freeze-thaw cycle.
I recently visited friends in a hard-hit area in the shadow of Mt. Mitchell over in North Carolina where a landslide started above the road, tore down the hill, crossed the road, and continued below. This was huge land and debris slide, much larger than ours, and it swept away structures and trees. I did not know I would be crossing its path until I saw a section of the road had been rebuilt. Second later, it was clear why as we saw the huge scar left on either side of the road.
Recovery is Slow
Rebuilding local roads and repairing bridges continues and good progress is being made in most locations. Rebuilding lives is far more difficult.
At a holiday event, I ran into a friend whose house had been washed away, and noticed she was wearing a new sweater. Then I realized, well, duh, she probably had to replace her entire wardrobe. I volunteered to help her rebuild their fences when they got their garden and bee yard back together, however I don’t think they have thought that far ahead yet. Gardens and beehives are low on the priority list when you are living in a trailer and trying to figure out how to get your house rebuilt.
My wife has been volunteering at one of the county relief centers and says they are still crowded, especially on Saturday mornings. Food pantries and the few places still serving an occasional hot meal are also crowded as people who have lost jobs, business, farms, equipment, vehicles, or even houses still need to eat. “Relief” no longer means helping people who don’t have electricity or heat; it means helping people who don’t have money.
Propane is in high demand as people need to heat their trailers. If you plan to rely on those small, “buddy” propane heaters for emergency heat, buy the kit that allows you to hook them up to something larger barbecue-grill size canisters can be refilled or exchanged almost anywhere.
We brought home three cases of water from the relief center because they have an excess. Pallets of water are piled out back because of a lack of room and some bottles are freezing and cracking. With the power back on, most people no longer need water. There are also many empty pallets for the taking. I expect I will bring a few home for our firewood stacks.
Christmas
Thanks to the generosity of donors, I doubt there is a child in the area who is not getting at least two gifts their parents did not have to pay for. Many government, non-profits, and churches are providing kids with a gift from “Santa.” The joke around here is every kid will have a new bike, even if they don’t live on a paved road.
While I am pleased the kids are getting something nice, children strike me as more resilient than their parents. As long as they have their parents, young kids do not understand what has been lost. It is those that have worked, and scraped, and saved to build something, only to see it washed away that suffer the most. It’s people who have lived in the same home for 60 years, only to have it destroyed, that have a hard time adjusting.
So when you enjoy your Christmas dinner this week, if you can do so in your own home or with those you love, consider yourself blessed. I dare say there are thousands in Tennessee, North Carolina, and bordering states that cannot do so.
We have family coming into town, so I will skip Wednesday’s post. The blog should return on Friday.
Wishing you and yours a warm and Merry Christmas.
