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EricNC

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The RR has been a great tool as I help out with our neighbors in W. NC. Everyone says it, but I can't help but to pile on—the damage is incomprehensible. These pics and video are from our SAR mission at Elk Park on Monday.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_1359


Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_1379


 

Ford Motor Company

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The RR has been a great tool as I help out with our neighbors in W. NC. Everyone says it, but I can't help but to pile on—the damage is incomprehensible. These pics and video are from our SAR mission at Elk Park on Monday.

IMG_1359.jpeg


IMG_1379.jpeg


We love to see you using your Ranger to help the community ❤
 

John E Davies

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Please add a description to your pics, so we know what we are looking at. Is this a washed out county road? I can see from the tree damage that the water was pretty darn deep…. Thanks.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA
 
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EricNC

EricNC

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Please add a description to your pics, so we know what we are looking at. Is this a washed out county road? I can see from the tree damage that the water was pretty darn deep…. Thanks.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA
This is (Was) Elk River Road in Elk Park, NC, parallel to the Elk River. It shows how wide the river got and everything it brought along with it. The "road" is the result of a bulldozer moving the rocks and boulders out of the way. The river crossing is the result of the bridge being gone with a temporary coffer dam to the left to make the crossing safe. The bridge was upstream and not the site in the picture. These pictures don't come close to explaining the devastation. I can post some more pics, but didn't want to get the ban hammer for going off topic.
 
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EricNC

EricNC

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Thank you to the Admin for allowing me to share more pictures. This is only a snapshot of what we are facing. The photos are from several locations, including Swananoa, Elk Park, and Green Mountain.

If you'd like to donate, message me, and I'll provide the contact information for The Altitude Project, my company's primary partner. One of our significant and urgent needs right now is high-resolution thermal imaging equipment and additional drones. We are racing against the cold weather as locating bodies after everything is frozen will be nearly impossible.

Let me know if you want to join us on a mission. We need people to help clean up the remaining homes and businesses. Cutting wood, clearing debris, etc., requires lots of willing hands, especially if you have equipment to help—loaders, skidders, chainsaws, log splitters, etc. Many locations need help organizing donations as well as shelving and the like. I put some examples in the photos. On one of our missions, we built shelves out of pallets, which we weren't expecting to do. We reused screws and nails from the pallets - it wasn't pretty, but it worked!

Let's put together a Ranger aid convoy. @Ford Motor Company may be able to sponsor such an effort.

And now - the pictures:
Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_1256

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_1257

Many of the roads have been damaged, undercut, or are completely gone

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_2992

Our pallet shelves in use

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_6563

There is debris EVERYWHERE, and it is making activities dangerous.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_6568

Residences were isolated by their entry bridges being wiped out.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_6573


Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_6581

Many/most items you see are from upstream, including vehicles and entire buildings.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_6584

I'm doing a thermal survey of the debris piles across the river. Thermal and K9s are the only two methods that allow us to survey at a reasonable speed.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_6597
Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_6598

Many of the victims caught up in the water were stripped out of their clothing, making it potentially important evidence of what happened to that person. It's a challenge as we don't know if it came from a washline or a person if there is no human tissue/fluid on the clothing.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_2205

Many of the debris piles are highly compacted by water. Thermal imaging is how we examine the debris before we start disturbing it. Due to the depth/thickness of the debris piles, we have to remove layers to make sure we're not missing anything.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_2207

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_1364

We found several large propane tanks that seemed full or nearly full.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_1365

From this picture, you can see how high the debris is relative to the current water level, which is normal depth at this point. The water reached 40' and was moving at 100mph.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_1368

The cables railing from a deck or stairs tightly wrapped around a tree by the water swirling the timbers around it. Keep in mind this is at the top of ravine - 40' above where the water is now.
Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane dji_fly_20241014_120714_681_1728947422689_aeb

This shows one of the ways we use the drone. I reduced the resolution of all the pics before I posted them, but in the original resolution, we zoom in and examine the debris for evidence of human remains.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane dji_fly_20241014_120900_699_1728947416925_aeb

This picture is a little depressing due to the irony of the life preserver on the rocks.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane dji_fly_20241014_122032_816_1728947391800_aeb

This gives a perspective of how large the debris piles are. One of my teammates is in the center of this drone picture. We have a lot of ground to cover and would never be able to do so without the thermal and drone.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_6612

This woman is a family member of a lady whose remains are still missing. The missing woman's shirt and some other items have been found and verified by the family.

She is looking at the debris by the standing trees across the river. We had a thermal hit and began taking apart the pile with an excavator. When the thermal target moved with the debris, we flagged the site and backed out to prevent further disturbance.

She just sat down and stared. We don't know what we found with the thermal; the specialized teams will go through it. We are not recovering intact bodies this far downstream, so we rely on DNA verification when we recover anything that could be human tissue..

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_2212
Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_6613
Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_2215
Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_1380
Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_6616

qThe above are just general pictures of the carnage.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_2239

This is an example of the help sites need to organize and distribute supplies and aid. If you have time to volunteer, give them a hand. It is cold in the mountains and we don't want needed supplies damaged by freezing termps.

Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_6635
Ford Ranger Ranger Raptor helping in W. NC post-hurricane IMG_2230

Just some more carnage.

Best Regards,
Eric
 

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stlscott

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Thanks for sharing this. Absolutely terrible situation. So grateful for your support of the community.
 

OH3Cobra

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Bless you and all those impacted. Truly horrific. My wife and I were in Chimney Rock a year ago. Such a cool place. Hard to believe the devastation.
 

BigMeatsBronco

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Certainly a lot worse than what we see on TV, and the numbers of deceased underreported for political reasons.
 
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EricNC

EricNC

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Certainly a lot worse than what we see on TV, and the numbers of deceased underreported for political reasons.
I don’t think it’s just politics, families aren’t ready to give up hope until bodies are recovered. We have family members on site about every SAR mission we do.
 

BigMeatsBronco

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I don’t think it’s just politics, families aren’t ready to give up hope until bodies are recovered. We have family members on site about every SAR mission we do.
this makes sense
 

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RB205

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Certainly a lot worse than what we see on TV, and the numbers of deceased underreported for political reasons.
I don't mean to hijack but why would either party want to underreport these numbers? Political parties didn't make this mess, nature did.
 

BigMeatsBronco

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I don't mean to hijack but why would either party want to underreport these numbers? Political parties didn't make this mess, nature did.
I dont know all the details, but last time I watched CNN they said approx 277 deceased. Then on other social media they say theve ordered 10,000 body bags. That's a HUGE difference!
Major news channels don't show this level of destruction or death. I can only make guesses as to why,

As soon as all the volunteers with supplies arrived, the news went silent, as if to say " nothing newsworthy to see here, move along now"...

While all my pilot buddy's that flew out there in small planes and helicopters to assist are saying pretty much the opposite of CNN. Far more Chaos than the news is reporting.
 
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bsr956

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5Ger here, been working with NC Baptist On Mission in NW NC too. Like OP said, pictures DO NOT - CAN NOT show the level of devastation. Got my bosses to approve me working 4 10hr days so I can have another day to help out.
 
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EricNC

EricNC

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Let me know when you'll be around, and let's try to meet up.
 

bsr956

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Sounds good, we are planning on going somewhere just not sure where yet. BTW beautiful truck!!
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