Monday, September 23rd began as most weeks do at Haywood EMC—business as usual on a warm and sunny September day. There had been some mention of a possible storm forming in the Caribbean, but nothing that would lead anyone to believe that by week's end, our region would be vastly changed.

As Tuesday began, Haywood EMC officials monitored this newly formed storm. The path seemed to be heading through the Gulf and towards Western North Carolina. This is not uncommon for late September, and Haywood EMC began preparations for a possible impact.

By Wednesday Morning, the storm - now named Helene - had become a Hurricane. Haywood EMC began communicating the possible effects of Helene and outlined how member-owners can be prepared. At this point, heavy rain had been falling and was set to continue ahead of the storm's arrival. Local Emergency Management teams had scheduled meetings around our service area and forecasters warned of a storm that could be historic for WNC. 

Thursday, Haywood EMC's stood ready to respond as outages occurred across the service territory. First, a few hundred, then a few thousand. Lineman were in the field throughout Thursday and overnight into Friday. In the early morning hours of Friday, many of our member-owners were awoken by emergency alerts sent to their cell phones - flash flood emergencies. Evacuations began and would continue throughout Friday morning for many communities.

At the height of Haywood EMC's outages, nearly 90% of our member-owners were without power. As the rain-heavy winds passed our line crews' restoration work continued. What was found throughout much of the territory was unfathomable. Large tracts of trees were blown down, destroying our power lines. Whole sections of earth were sent sliding down the mountain, removing roads from their path. Haywood EMC's Clyde substation was fully underwater and would have to be replaced.

Over the next 16 days, Haywood EMC linemen worked alongside line crews that joined from several states. The work was not complete until all outages were restored. Many jobs required waiting for floodwaters to recede, bridges to be rebuilt, and hundreds of trees requiring removal to allow access to communities. Through it all, our team was strong. 

Much of the strength of our team was furthered by our wonderful communities and our member-owners' kindness. Throughout those weeks, we saw the hospitality WNC is known for. Neighbors helping neighbors, members serving lineman meals as they worked, and countless kind words for our workers from near and far. We thank you all for your understanding and patience as our team worked around the clock for the full restoration of service.

As we move into the holidays and continue to reflect on this storm, Haywood EMC finds gratitude for all of its member-owners and the way our communities banded together and weathered this historic storm.