Supporting Our Neighbors in Need.
In late September, when Hurricane Helene ripped a path through the East Coast, we in Huntersville were spared much of the impact. The inconvenience of a few days of severe thunderstorms, coupled with downed trees, power outages, and high waters was nothing compared to the horror faced by those not even two hours from us.
We watched newsreels of the devastation wrought by floods and mudslides. Entire railroads, bridges, and houses were swept away. We saw pictures of entire towns: gone, like the aftermath of an apocalyptic film. We saw countless lives lost and livelihoods destroyed, an entire region's tourism economy wrecked on the eve of its peak season.
We all watched and asked the question, "What can we do to help?”
At Lee's Firewood, we asked the question too, and the answer came in the form of a special and specific request. In the aftermath of the devastation we began to receive calls from different organizations that were on the frontlines of assisting those affected, including SunnyMorning.org and the Blue Ridge Opportunity Commission. They explained to us that many people in the region still used firewood as a primary source of warmth in the winter, and now that power lines were down and peoples' homes were destroyed, those who used electric sources of heating needed firewood too. Any stores of wood that had previously been collected were washed away. One of our customers asked, "Don't they have wood from all the downed trees?" But wood for firewood takes between 4-6 months to air dry out from the time it has been cut, depending on the conditions. And the conditions in Western North Carolina, with rivers of standing water and toxic mud several feet deep, meant those trees would not be usable for quite some time just as the need for dry firewood had become urgent.
We sent several loads up, as much as we could fit into the trailers and truck beds of volunteers headed to the mountains. Some local Huntersville companies like Tree's Unlimited Pros also volunteered their trucks and delivery services in their spare time. But the requests keep coming, more than we as a small business, could handle ourselves.
When we reached out to our customers, explaining the situation and asking for their help to continue sending wood to WNC, we weren't sure what to expect, but the donations began flowing in immeadiately. Thanks to the extreme generosity of those in our area, we have raised over $3,000 and counting for the Western North Carolina Firewood Fund. On the weekend of October 26th, we were able to load a full dumpster (provided, hauled, and delivered by Tough Dumpsters) with firewood and send 40 bags, which the the equivalent of over 13 cords and around 13,000 pounds, of fire to our neighbors in Lansing and Spruce Pine, NC. We were told that as theywere delivering the load, residents were alreay lining up to receive wood.
At Lee's Firewood, we are touched by the genrosity of spirit than went into providing lifesavinf fuel and cooking wood to our neighbors in need. We thank each and every one of your for your thoughts, prayers, and donations to the WNC Firewood Fund. As the months begin to grow colder, the donation link will remain open and we will continue to spread warmth to our Western Neighbors as often as we can throughout the winter season.
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