North Carolina
No driveway and no road: Volunteers work to get people out of their homes in WNC: 'Stuck'
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) — As Western North Carolina nears two weeks since Helene hit causing widespread destruction, the recovery and cleanup efforts are still a huge undertaking.
Aerial Recovery is a non-profit made up of veterans and first responders that go to natural disasters all over the country and are now in Western North Carolina. Seth Griffith with Aerial Recovery says, “What we found is veterans and first responders work really well in disaster response. We have skills that we learned in the military we are not afraid to work. We’ve been doing everything from reconnaissance missions in remote areas, to extract people that need to get out.
Griffith says they’ve been getting medical supplies in remote areas along with basic living necessities.
“If we can give them a heater, a generator, bring them food, just talk and be human with them for 10 minutes, pray with them.” He stresses the importance of working with local authorities. “Work along with them, not by ourselves. We want to be a force multiplier, not be the tractor, or come in like cowboys and take over, it’s not our show, we want everyone to work with us aiding and assisting alongside.”
I just stood up on the porch and prayed.
Dee Pitzer, Stuck at home
Dee Pitzer is one of the homeowners who needed help. “I’m still kind of stuck because I can’t get out down there.” The rain and mud from Helene washed out a large chunk of not only the road in front of her home but her entire driveway.
“The water on the road was waist deep. It was just coming in so fast no one could stand up in that, so I just stood up on the porch and prayed.”
Volunteers with Aeriel Recovery brought in skid steers to try and make navigating out of their Garren Creek neighborhood easier. Justin Foles with Aerial Recovery explains what they’re doing, “We are trying to make sure the road is nice is smooth. It’s really just a quality-of-life type thing, so they can get in and get out. If we can we try and put some culverts in that way the water has a place to flow and not just up and over the driveway to erode it even further if any more rain comes in.”
A quality-of-life type thing, so they can get in and get out.
Justin Foles, Aerial Recovery
Another homeowner along the road Van Smith says the outpouring of support hasn’t stopped including visits from the National Guard and law enforcement, who all brought big smiles to his 4-year-old grandson, Oliver when they let him get in their vehicles and escape from all of the destruction around his home.
“We are getting a lot of help. Gotta give your hats off to all of these guys they’ve been super good. Everyone pulling together and making it happen we have to.”
Randy West and his wife also received help from the volunteers. During Helene, two mudslides brought the trees down, some narrowly missing his house.
“That’s all we lost is the back door. We are so fortunate to have this place after everybody around us lost their lives. Their homes, their driveways. We are so fortunate,” West tells ABC11.
A crew with Aerial Recovery surprised West Thursday. Foles said, “We want to make their life a little bit better, give them everything they want and need.”
I cannot thank that crew enough for showing up.
Randy West, WNC Homeowner
Crews spent hours cutting up all of the fallen trees that blocked access to his spring, which is also his source of water. After they finished the job, West said, “It helped a lot. They cut me a trail right here to get up to my spring. I cannot thank that crew enough for showing up.”
Just before the crew left, West let them in on a little surprise, “Y’all don’t realize this, but that is my birthday today and this is the best present I could have gotten, “West said.
Aerial Recovery says they will be in Western North Carolina as long as there is a need.
SEE ALSO | 11 members of same family killed when mudslide wiped out ‘Craigtown’ during Hurricane Helene
One family lost 11 people when Hurricane Helene devastated the community named for them.
ALSO SEE | Brothers stranded by Helene walk 13 miles through thick mud, washed-out roads
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North Carolina
Lower gas prices and open roads create ideal holiday travel conditions for NC travelers
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS0 — Nearly 3.7 million North Carolinians are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home over the 13-day year-end holiday period that started on Saturday, Dec. 20.
Thaissa Braga, a Florida resident who traveled by car to spend the holidays in Asheville.
WHITE CHRISTMAS UNLIKELY FOR MANY IN U.S. WITH WARM TEMPERATURES IN HOLIDAY FORECAST
“We thought we needed snow tires for the wheels and stuff, but it wasn’t anything like that. It was smooth sailing, not many accidents along the way. We did leave at 4:30 in the morning, so that was a little crazy, but it was worth it,” Braga said.
One plus for anyone traveling by car to their holiday destination this year is that gas prices are lower than they were last year, with the national average dipping below $3 per gallon for the first time in four years.
According to the same AAA report, which anticipates nearly 3.7 million North Carolinians traveling over the year-end holiday period, it also says that most of them travel by car.
DEC. 21, 2025 – Nearly 3.7 million North Carolinians are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home over the 13-day year-end holiday period that started on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Photo: WLOS Staff)
To help drivers get to their destinations safely and on time, the North Carolina Department of Transportation removed all lane closures where possible across the state through Jan. 2.
However, David Uchiyama with NCDOT says there are some areas in western North Carolina where the lane closures must remain in place, like the stretch of Interstate 40 going through the Pigeon River Gorge.
“It’s open with one lane in each direction, a 35-mile-an-hour speed limit, narrow shoulders,” said David Uchiyama, the Western Communications Manager with NCDOT.
Uchiyama is reminding drivers to plan their trips ahead of time, and he says one helpful resource is drivenc.gov.
DEC. 21, 2025 – Nearly 3.7 million North Carolinians are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home over the 13-day year-end holiday period that started on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Photo: WLOS Staff)
One person who planned for her trip is Asheville resident Emily Lamb; however, she’s flying instead of driving to visit her family in Ohio.
“Preparing for this trip looked like calculating my PTO for one. And then really comparing plane ticket prices and timing of things. And overall, just being intentional with any gifts I take home,” Lamb said.
According to the AAA report, over 200,000 of the North Carolina Holiday travelers will travel by plane.
ASHEVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT SHARES HOLIDAY TRAVEL TIPS AMID ONGOING RENOVATIONS
The Asheville Airport published holiday travel tips online, telling people to make a parking plan before arriving at the airport.
A helpful resource is their website, which has a map of their parking areas.
North Carolina
Life-threatening injuries reported after shooting on I-73 South near Wendover Avenue, Greensboro police say
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — One person was left with life-threatening injuries in an overnight shooting Sunday, according to the Greensboro Police Department.
At 12:52 a.m., officers responded to a man down call at Interstate 73 South just before the Wendover Avenue exit and found one shooting victim with life-threatening injuries. They were taken to a local hospital.
I-73 South at Wendover Avenue was closed following the shooting. As of 10:22 a.m. Sunday, the road is still closed.
No suspect information was available.
The investigation is ongoing.
ATLANTA (AP) — Henri Veesaar scored the winning basket on a dunk with 7.2 seconds remaining off a pass from a stumbling Seth Trimble, and No. 12 North Carolina held off Ohio State 71-70 on Saturday.
Trimble, playing his first game since breaking his left forearm in a Nov. 9 training mishap, wanted to shoot but tripped as he spun into the lane. As the senior guard was falling, he dished the ball to Veesaar, who slipped past his defender for the emphatic slam.
Ohio State had two chances to pull off the upset.
John Mobley Jr. missed a 3-point try, only to have Devin Royal grab the offensive rebound under the basket. He went back up ahead of the horn, but Caleb Wilson blocked the shot to preserve the win for the Tar Heels.
Trimble, who played with a wrap covering much of his left arm, and Veesaar both finished with 17 points. Wilson led North Carolina (11-1) with 20.
Trimble also did a stellar defensive job on Ohio State star Bruce Thornton, who was held to 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting. He came into the game hitting 60.2% from the field.
Royal led the Buckeyes (8-3) with 18 points.
Mobley put Ohio State ahead on a 3-pointer with 48.7 seconds to go, also drawing a foul that made it a four-point play for a 70-67 lead.
Trimble hit a drive in the lane to cut the margin, and Jarin Stevenson made a steal as Ohio State tried to get the ball into the frontcourt to set up the winning basket.
It was the second game of the CBS Sports Classic at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Kentucky defeated No. 22 St. John’s 78-66 in the opener.
Up next
Ohio State hosts Grambling State on Tuesday.
North Carolina is back in Chapel Hill to face East Carolina on Monday.
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