One life lost in Macon flooding
Several roads are still closed due to flooding in Macon County. Bob Scott photo
While Macon County may have been spared the catastrophic flooding experienced by so many of its Western North Carolina neighbors following Hurricane Helene, it was not spared the most serious and devastating effects of the storm — loss of life.
On Sunday, Sept. 29, the Macon County Sheriff’s Department announced it has lost one of its own, Deputy Jim Lau.
“This is one of the most difficult releases we have ever had to make,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
On Friday, Sept. 27, a 911 call came in concerning a truck in the river on Fulton Road, with witnesses saying they saw someone in the truck before it went underwater.
“It was soon realized that one of our courthouse security officers, Jim Lau, hadn’t returned to work from lunch and his truck matched the description of the truck that was seen in the river,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “A search effort was initiated that afternoon by multiple emergency service agencies; an on-foot search, drone search and multiple swift-water rescue teams were called in. Ultimately the search was put on hold when the sun began to set.”
When the search resumed early Saturday morning, rescuers found Lau’s body and recovered it from the river shortly thereafter. Because the death is an ongoing investigation by the North Carolina State Highway patrol, the Sheriff’s Office is not releasing any further information at this time.
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“Jim was very liked and respected within our department,” the Sheriff’s Office statement read. “He was known to be a hard worker, dependable and he jumped in wherever help was needed. His absence will truly be felt in our agency.”
On Monday, Sept. 30, Macon County Emergency Services Director Warren Cabe confirmed that Lau’s death was the only flood-related death in Macon County following the effects of Hurricane Helene.
The North Carolina Sheriff’s Association announced that Lau is one of two Sheriff’s deputies to be killed as a result of the storm.
“In the wake of this devastating storm, a deputy from the Macon County Sheriff’s Office and a deputy from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office were tragically killed in raging flood waters,” the Sheriffs’ Association said in a statement. “We ask that you keep the families, friends and colleagues of these deputies as well as the entirety of Western North Carolina in your thoughts and prayers during this unfathomable and difficult time.”
Emergency services work around the clock on recovery efforts. Bob Scott photo
The most significant impact from the storm occurred in the Highlands and Cullasaja communities, with Highlands sustaining major wind damage and Cullasaja, significant flooding.
As of Monday morning, Cabe said there were about 4,000 Maconians without power on the Duke system and the Haywood EMC. While Duke Power told Cabe they hope to have power restored by Oct. 4, there has been no such estimate from Haywood EMC.
On the Highlands electric system, all of its customers remained without power. During the course of the storm, 21 inches of rain fell in Highlands, an area that usually sees about 88 inches of precipitation all year long.
“Restoration time for the Highlands system will be extensive,” said Cabe.
According to Highlands Mayor Pat Taylor, that repair time could take as long as two weeks because the entire electrical grid is down with multiple utility poles snapped at the base. That’s an estimated 3,000 customers without power.
Bob Scott photo
“Everyone has been out of power,” Taylor said.
Like most communities in the area, Highlands is trying to recover from the storm amidst an almost complete loss of cellular and internet service.
“The town crews and staff are working long hours to restore services,” Taylor said. “We will continue to do so until the job is done.”
Communications have been an ongoing struggle in Macon County since midday Friday, when residents lost access to cellular and internet connections.
Macon County declared a state of emergency on Thursday, Sept. 26, and had been advising people to stay put, but even emergency services were experiencing complications with their communication system, with all counties in the western part of the state affected by a 911 system outage.
“Our system is operational, the 911 calls are just not able to get through the network to get to us,” said Cabe. “They are being rerouted to somewhere that actually has some network access and then the information is transferred back to us by other means.”
For now, all 911 calls and texts made in Macon County are rerouted to Guilford Metro 911, and that information is transferred back to Macon. Cabe said he receives two daily reports from the people working on that system and that there is no estimation available about when it will be functioning normally.
Communications and access to power are in large part the two biggest hurdles to recovery in Macon County, though administration are assessing the broad scale of the damage.
“Most structural damage has been moderate or minor damage such as a damaged electrical service entrance or flooded foundations,” Cabe said in a state Sunday, Sept. 29. “More damages may become apparent throughout the week as isolated areas, especially in the Highlands area become more accessible.”
In a statement Monday, the Town of Franklin said it fared much better than the majority of its neighbors when it came to damages.
Residents wait in line at the bank to pull out cash. Bob Scott photo
“The town is still experiencing cellular service and internet interruptions; however, many providers such as Starlink, Balsam West and AT&T have reported improved connectivity,” the Town said in a statement. “The downtown Wi-Fi is working well and is free for public use.”
While crews are continuing to monitor tree damage and remove remaining debris, roads within the town limits of Franklin are clear.
Throughout the rest of the county, Highway 106 between Scaly Mountain and Highlands remains closed, as well as numerous other roads in the Highlands area that have been affected by fallen trees or other road damage.
“There are some other smaller back roads which are still going to be closed,” said Cabe. “We concentrated all our efforts on the major thoroughfares in and out of Highlands because during the brunt of the storm, there was no road access into or out of Highlands.”
Ultimately, recovery will take time, and Cabe is urging residents to be patient.
“Most of Macon County experienced very little or almost no damage,” said Cabe. “We’re dealing with issues that are affecting most of the western part of North Carolina. We’re seeing issues where businesses will only accept cash because they can’t accept payments, and we’re also experiencing fuel shortages today because of the demand on our system and folks coming from other areas trying to get fuel here. So, we want folks to be patient.”
With recovery efforts taking place across the region, fuel will continue to be an absolute necessity for emergency service units and repair crews.
“We want people to get fuel when they need it and let the supply chain and the communication chain recover and just be patient with us as we go farther, because at this point, we don’t have all the answers,” Cabe said. “No matter what Macon County is going through today, we’re in a way better situation than some of our neighbors to the east.
