In Rutherford County, hope mixes with desperation: 'Like we're being left out'

LAKE LURE, N.C. (WTVD) -- In Lake Lure, all non-emergency traffic is being turned away from points upriver.

There's a roadblock there and as badly as this community and others around it were hit by Helene, it's difficult to compare to what's on the other side.

On Tuesday, the town of Chimney Rock was accessible only on foot. Much of it has been reduced to piles of debris as locals work tirelessly to get more help here.

"It's like we're being left out," said Mike Roberts, pastor of Grassy Knob Church in Lake Lure. "We should not be left out. We're people, too.

ABC11 got a grim, new look at the devastation in Rutherford County, southeast of Asheville.

Main Street in Chimney Rock, a quaint village in the shadow of the summit that shares its name. It's mostly reduced to rubble. The road washed out into the river at one point.

Cars destroyed. Debris piled high through the heart of the town.

"Help. We need help for this whole area," Robert said, becoming emotional. "We can't be the only ones left out of the government's help. These people love this country just like I do. And they need help."

Roberts and his wife, Mary, have been busy distributing water, food and life-saving supplies from a grocery-store parking lot.

"We've been having hot food in the mornings. We cook it at home and bring it here, but we've been running out of hot food," Roberts said.

They're receiving donations from across the county, including from Paul and Cara Brock, owners of Lured Market & Grill in Lake Lure.

"What we're trying to do is get the space clean and back open," Cara Brock said. "And then with resources, we're going to keep feeding folks as they're here working, which seems to be for the foreseeable future."

The Brocks were airlifted from their house in the community of Bat Cave on Monday.

"It's almost like we've had a (Hurricane) Katrina-type incident in a place that's got a lot less infrastructure," Paul Brock said. "And a lot more, the topography is a whole lot more challenging."

When they saw the devastation in their village of 400 -- they were determined to chip in, turning the patio of their restaurant into a makeshift grill for hungry residents and first responders, cooking any food they have with a donated generator.

But many of their neighbors are still trapped Tuesday night, cut off by the devastating scenes near Chimney Rock.

"You can't get through to Chimney Rock, like, they're landlocked," Cara Brock said. "They have nowhere to go when they've lost everything. And they're truly like in the street with fires and trying to feed their neighbors."

For Roberts and other volunteers, the calls for help are louder than ever as concern rises for those running out of food and water -- and what might happen if more government relief doesn't reach Rutherford County soon.

"And they could give food and water away and stop people from panicking," Roberts said. "But once people panic, chaos starts. And we don't need no chaos."

"This storm has brought catastrophic devastation to western North Carolina, of historic proportions," Gov. Cooper said.

SEE ALSO | How to help those affected by Helene: volunteering, donations and other resources

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