Were continuing to follow the damage left behind in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
First responders from our region have already begun to assist those affected the most by the hurricane
Reporter Brock Owens tells us about some of the locals who are joining the recovery efforts in North Carolina and how long they’ll be there.
Sunday was the first day in North Carolina for some of the responders, and Johnstown Fire Chief Bob Statler says he’s being updated about the response and he’s told that Today is the first hot meal the group has been able to have.
One of the groups from Pennsylvania in North Carolina right now is the PA Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team.
Rickey Price a member of the Cambria County Swift Water Rescue Team is included in that group that made the trip.
Price tells me he will be in North Carolina until at least Saturday.
Authorities say the PA Urban Search And Rescue Task Force is also there and are supposed to be until next weekend.
Someone from the Johnstown Fire Department is with the Task Force according to Chief Statler though is not being released who that is right now.
People I’ve spoken with in the Asheville area do say the cell phone service remains very spotty though conditions are improving slightly as the recovery efforts and search for victims continues.
He talks about what else he’s hearing about the efforts.
“The initial teams that were pulled in from five or six different states now were all moved to North Carolina, so they’re all concentrated in one area now. A lot of the area down there is only accessible to helicopters and stuff because of the road ways being ripped up”
Statler says he’s being told searching in the debris is a focus right now and they are working 14 hours each day from 7 a.m. Until 9 p.m.
