FEMA Halted Aid in Parts of North Carolina in Hurricane Helene's Aftermath

[mystery-ak]

FEMA Halted Aid in Parts of North Carolina in Hurricane Helene's Aftermath
Madeline Leesman


The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) paused aid in parts of North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene over alleged threats targeted at the agency’s personnel.

According to The Washington Post, the workers were told to stop working and move to a different location over concerns of an “armed militia” threatening workers in the area (via the Post):

    Around 1 p.m. Saturday, an official with the U.S. Forest Service, which is supporting recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sent an urgent message to numerous federal agencies warning that “FEMA has advised all federal responders Rutherford County, NC, to stand down and evacuate the county immediately. The message stated that National Guard troops ‘had come across x2 trucks of armed militia saying they were out hunting FEMA.’”

    “The IMTs [incident management teams] have been notified and are coordinating the evacuation of all assigned personnel in that county,” the email added.

In a statement to reporters, a FEMA spokesperson said they were simply making “operational adjustments.”

more
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/madelineleesman/2024/10/15/fema-just-halted-aid-in-parts-of-north-carolina-in-hurricane-helenes-aftermath-n2646194

[Cyber Liberty]

That action by FEMA will probably be of great service to the people of that County.  The downside is innocent people are being labeled as Domestic Terrorists. 

[DefiantMassRINO]

Follow-up ...

https://myfox8.com/weather/hurricane-helene/man-accused-of-threatening-fema-workers-with-assault-rifle-in-western-north-carolina/
Man accused of threatening FEMA workers with assault rifle in western North Carolina

by: Brayden Stamps, Michaela Ratliff   
Posted: Oct 14, 2024 / 12:45 PM EDT   
Updated: Oct 14, 2024 / 02:23 PM EDT   

RUTHERFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A man is being charged after being accused of threatening FEMA workers in western North Carolina, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.

At around 12:54 p.m. on Saturday, deputies got a report of a man with an assault rifle who made a comment about possibly harming FEMA workers providing Hurricane Helene disaster relief in the area of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock. ...

... The suspect was later identified as William Jacob Parsons, 44, of Bostic. Parsons was taken into custody and charged with going armed to the terror of the public. ...

... Investigators say that Parsons acted alone. ...

[berdie]

As the above states...I have read that it was one man...not a militia.

Even one person can cause damage but it's not as being erroneously reported.

[Wingnut]

As the above states...I have read that it was one man...not a militia.

Even one person can cause damage but it's not as being erroneously reported.

NYT future HL:  MAGA Militia cause of FEMA aid delay.

[Timber Rattler]

Follow-up ...

https://myfox8.com/weather/hurricane-helene/man-accused-of-threatening-fema-workers-with-assault-rifle-in-western-north-carolina/
Man accused of threatening FEMA workers with assault rifle in western North Carolina

by: Brayden Stamps, Michaela Ratliff   
Posted: Oct 14, 2024 / 12:45 PM EDT   
Updated: Oct 14, 2024 / 02:23 PM EDT   

RUTHERFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A man is being charged after being accused of threatening FEMA workers in western North Carolina, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.

At around 12:54 p.m. on Saturday, deputies got a report of a man with an assault rifle who made a comment about possibly harming FEMA workers providing Hurricane Helene disaster relief in the area of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock. ...

... The suspect was later identified as William Jacob Parsons, 44, of Bostic. Parsons was taken into custody and charged with going armed to the terror of the public. ...

... Investigators say that Parsons acted alone. ...

Good luck getting a local jury to convict.

[Smokin Joe]

As the above states...I have read that it was one man...not a militia.

Even one person can cause damage but it's not as being erroneously reported.

I recall from my time in the hills, that the word "hunting" was commonly synonymous in usage to "looking for", and did not necessarily imply the intent to do harm. "I'm hunting for my dog, or hunting my pickup keys", for example.

What we have here may be a failure to communicate.

Please don't send citified DEIs into rural areas.

[mountaineer]

This is not old footage, this was posted Oct. 26. Full tactical gear officers telling Hurricane Helene volunteers they “can no longer enter Chimney Rock to render aid.”

“The Government is trying to tell us we can’t cross the county line anymore.”

https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/1850353556995383592

[Bigun]

@$#*&^%$()*^%#!!!

[Timber Rattler]

“The Government is trying to tell us we can’t cross the county line anymore.”

One thing is not clear to me in this video, and others like it.  Are the "government" officials telling these people to stay out actually Feds, or are they state and local officials or law enforcement trying to keep looters and other opportunists out?

Meanwhile...

North Carolina officials initially estimated the road to Big Chimney would take several months to almost a year to complete. Nevertheless, a team of West Virginia coal miners accomplished the task in remarkably less time - under a week. Their commitment and proficiency deserve significant recognition and thanks. Importantly, they voluntarily undertook this project.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100041574925939

[Wingnut]

CHIMNEY ROCK, West Virginia — Blue-collar workers prevailed over bureaucracy in Hurricane Helene-ravaged North Carolina by rebuilding a highway at breakneck speed on their own terms – allowing residents to finally return home.

Coal miners from West Virginia – whom locals have lovingly dubbed the “West Virginia Boys” – moved a mountain in just three days to reopen a 2.7-mile stretch of Highway 64 between Bat Cave and Chimney Rock washed away by Helene.

Chimney Rock residents who fled the hurricane one month ago will now be able to return home for the first time within a few days, months earlier than they expected.

“The river swallowed the road, so I haven’t been home since the hurricane,” Robin Phillips, 49, told The Post.


Hurricane Helene destroyed Highway 9 weeks ago. Ben Hendren
Hurricane Helene destroyed Highway 9 weeks ago. Ben Hendren
“The West Virginia boys have moved the mountains. All of the roads were just gone, until now. It’s nothing short of miraculous.

“I haven’t been to my house since the flood but I know very soon I’ll be able to. Without their help, who knows, it would be months before I could access our house.”

Phillips and her husband also run a campground in Chimney Rock, she said. They have not been able to assess the state of their business since the hurricane came through.

“For a small community like ours without many residents, that could easily get overlooked, it’s unreal what they’re doing,” she said of the miners’ effort.

The Post previously spoke to “sole survivors” from Chimney Rock, who expected to spend a year on the open road until road access to their home was restored.

On Friday, The Post watched while the miners balanced a bulldozer and two excavators on the banks of the newly-widened Broad River to shift the final 20-ton granite boulder into place to restore access between the two towns.

The miners, who were all volunteering their time, were too sheepish about building a highway without legal permission to speak on the record.

Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), North Carolina Department of Transportation and the local Sheriff’s office all visited the site but turned a blind eye to the unsanctioned build.

https://nypost.com/2024/10/27/us-news/west-va-boys-build-road-so-helene-victims-can-go-home/

[Wingnut]

https://twitter.com/i/status/1848514459548958920