Press Release
The Clay County Sheriff's Office was an integral part of the comprehensive interagency response to tropical storm Helene that affected Clay County this past Thursday evening through Friday morning. The Sheriff's Office was joined by Clay County's Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Management Director, Fire & Rescue, County Manager, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, Fire Marshall, 911 Director, Health Department, Department of Social Services, and Senior Center. Personnel with the NC Department of Transportation, NC Highway Patrol, and the US Forest Service also participated with the Emergency Operations Center.
All these entities were represented at the Emergency Operations Center that was set up at the Sheriff's Office Thursday afternoon. The purpose of this Emergency Operations Center was to monitor the developing weather, establish emergency communications, inventory & make ready resources, keep the citizenry informed and advised, issue & make notification of evacuation orders, make ready & activate evacuation shelter(s), dispatch emergency personnel when needed, etc. During the storm, Clay County was fortunate enough that no distress calls had to be responded to. Teams were sent out to notify certain people, who lived-in low-lying areas near waterways, that they were under evacuation orders.
An emergency evacuation shelter was brought online at the Senior Center on Ritter Road in Hayesville. Throughout the night of the storm, the Sheriff’s Office staffed the Emergency Operations Center with Command Staff Officers as well as five Patrol Officers. Other First Responder Agencies, that made up the Emergency Operations Center, also had an abundance of Command Staff and front-line personnel on standby throughout the night.
By Friday morning, it became evident that the wrath of Tropical Storm Helene had passed
eastward of Clay County. By mid-morning, the Emergency Operations Center was disbanded.
On Friday around 12:30 PM Clay County’s 911 system went down throughout western North
Carolina. All 911 calls to Clay County were subsequently routed directly to Johnston County,
which is located just southeast of Raleigh. Once Johnston County received Clay County’s 911
calls, they used the statewide VIPER radio system to relay the information to Clay County’s 911
to be dispatched out to First Responders.
Clay County was unbelievably fortunate to have been spared from the devastation Helene
brought to Counties toward the east. With that, however, came the obligation for Clay County to send as many resources to help them as possible. On Saturday, two Clay County Sheriff’s
Officers were sent to help the Black Mountain and Montreat Police Departments. Those
communities were destroyed by Helene. On Monday, they were joined by two additional Clay
County Officers while another two Officers were sent to assist the Avery County Sheriff’s Office.
Since Saturday morning, five and a half pallets of bottled water, approximately 620 gallons of
gas, and an abundance of other needed supplies have been delivered to law enforcement
agencies in Haywood, Buncombe, and Avery Counties. Walmart in Murphy, Home Depot in
Blairsville, and Tractor Supply in Murphy donated this water. Local contractor Chris Cotton
donated a tanker trailer with 500 gallons of gasoline to be sent to Black Mountain and Montreat for the operation of emergency vehicles. Area churches and individual citizens around Clay County have been busy collecting a tremendous number of supplies that have been or will be sent to those areas in need.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office would encourage anyone wanting to send relief, to those areas devastated by Helene, to make sure that any resources sent have been specifically requested and for specific locations. Arriving unexpectedly to a location with supplies or personnel can often result in confusion and having resources left where they are less needed. The citizens of Clay County have been wonderful in their compassion, willingness to give, and desire to help those devastated by Helene.
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