Moving Mountains Through Cooperation

Dirk Burleson

It’s hard for many to comprehend how a hurricane could so dramatically affect the mountains of North Carolina as Helene did in late September. I’ve heard it countless times: the mountains are where many from the coast go to escape the wrath of Atlantic hurricanes, and yet, here we are.

Helene delivered massive amounts of rainfall to a region where any precipitation is channeled through typically quiet brooks, streams and scenic rivers, winding through idyllic communities. But so much rain, measured in feet, not inches, and tropical storm winds proved too much. 

Rutherford EMC and our sister electric co-ops in Western North Carolina had built our systems from the ground up over decades. Within hours, Helene had left much of it in shambles, leaving 236,000 co-op members without power, as well as severe damage to homes, businesses, roads — and the loss of human life.

When stepping back to assess the damage from such an event, it can be overwhelming. One of the few truths that can bring hope in such times is knowing we’re not alone. For electric cooperatives, that truth shines through in one of our very founding principles: Cooperation Among Cooperatives.

It sounds simple enough, but in times of need it can mean the difference between success and failure. In the case of Helene, that cooperative principle brought more than 500 lineworkers to our region to join local co-op crews in restoring power to co-op members in as short a time as possible. Contractors and crews from more than 30 electric co-ops in 11 states, including from all parts of North Carolina, made the drive into unknown conditions — leaving warm beds and families behind — to do whatever it took to get power back on.

It was a Herculean effort. In many cases, crews had to cut their own paths to access downed lines, navigating washed out roads, floodwaters, mudslides and countless thousands of downed trees. Our co-op, Rutherford EMC, had 6,800 total miles of power lines damaged or destroyed, nearly 90% of our system. The three other electric co-ops impacted the most, Blue Ridge Energy, French Broad EMC and Haywood EMC, saw similar devastation.

But with the help of those who traveled so far to come to our aid, we systematically worked through the damage to restore power throughout Western North Carolina, allowing us all to turn our focus on helping our communities get back on their feet. As any who are from our region know, we have a long way to go before we get back to anything resembling normal, and for many who suffered unimaginable loss, that “normal” will never be restored. But we are in this together, and brighter days are coming.

We thank our members for your patience and understanding as we worked to get power back online, many of whom housed, fed or otherwise supported the army of lineworkers in the field. And we thank our peer cooperatives from North Carolina and across the country who came to our aid. We could not have done this without you.