Western NC Disaster Update (10-14-2024--Hour3)

[00:00:04] [SPEAKER_00]: What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalinershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:28] [SPEAKER_00]: All righty, so let's do some updates on the situation in Western North Carolina. I was out of town, left Thursday night, went down to Atlanta, and ran into a lot of people there that, you know, were asking all sorts of questions about the status of the situation in Western North Carolina.

[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And so I can say, and we talked to, you know, Chris and I have been talking with people that we know up in the mountains and, you know, getting status updates from them.

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_00]: And we did hear from a couple people over the weekend that they had gotten their water service restored, which is a big deal. Now, they can't drink it.

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_00]: They can't, in some cases, depending on where you live, what areas and what pipes are going to your, you know, neck of the woods.

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_00]: You can't, you can't drink it. You can't use it for anything other than flushing toilets, but it is progress.

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_00]: So that's good news. More than, this is according to the Citizen Times, that's the newspaper up in Asheville.

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_00]: More than half of the people served by Asheville's Water Resources Department, which I guess that's a, I think that's a rebrand of, yeah, because I think they just used to call it water.

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, it doesn't matter.

[00:01:59] [SPEAKER_00]: So more than half remain without access to water as of yesterday.

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_00]: It's been more than two weeks since the flooding.

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_00]: So here are the numbers.

[00:02:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Roughly 90,000 to 100,000 still do not have water, according to Clay Chandler, who was a spokesman during Buncombe County news conference that was held yesterday.

[00:02:28] [SPEAKER_00]: The water system supports about 160,000 people.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_00]: All right.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_00]: So between 90,000 and 100,000 still don't have water out of 160.

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_00]: So that tells me what, 60 to, yeah, 60 to 70,000 do have water.

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Officials said they don't anticipate water fully returning to customers for weeks at a minimum.

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_00]: We don't know how many weeks.

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_00]: And this is just the Asheville system.

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, the Asheville system does serve more localities than just Asheville.

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_00]: There are some water systems that I've heard in the mountains are worse.

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_00]: They just actually don't even exist any longer.

[00:03:16] [SPEAKER_00]: And so their timeline is going to be much longer.

[00:03:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, the truth is that some of these places may not come back.

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_00]: The people might not come back.

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_00]: If you've lost everything and you just own some, you know, part of a mountainside that has collapsed or, you know, slid down into the valley.

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And you get a check from FEMA.

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of people just take that money and they'll go someplace else that's safer to build and to start a new life.

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_00]: They'll go live with family members.

[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_00]: They move to another city and they'll just stay there.

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_00]: It happened after Hurricane Katrina.

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of people left New Orleans, never went back.

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_00]: So that's something also that these small towns are going to have to deal with.

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_00]: I heard Christy say over the weekend she was talking to somebody and she said they're trying to rebuild civilization.

[00:04:22] [SPEAKER_00]: And that is accurate.

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_00]: That is accurate.

[00:04:27] [SPEAKER_00]: About 80% of the customers that get their water from there are there are two lakes, two reservoirs up there that feed the Asheville system.

[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_00]: One is called the North Fork and the other is called Bee Tree.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_00]: And the people who are getting and so keep in mind that like if you're if you're taking water out of one basin and sending it over a ridge line, you're then going into another basin.

[00:04:56] [SPEAKER_00]: It requires what's called an interbasin transfer that you're you're you're getting into state approvals for that because you're taking water out of one, you know, water system, a basin.

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And you're sending it to another.

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: And these types of disputes arise.

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Charlotte is in one of these these disputes, because anytime you start pulling water and you're going over a ridge line, you you you're probably running into another basin and transferring water out of one basin into another becomes problematic,

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_00]: especially because there are people that are in that basin that don't appreciate you taking their water.

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_00]: So because without water, your development stops.

[00:05:36] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, if you do not have capacity.

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_00]: To build more houses because you lack enough water, then you don't build more houses.

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_00]: So 80 percent of the customers that get their water from the North Fork Reservoir.

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: They got heavily affected by Helene.

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: The water department started to directly treat the reservoir there to clear up the murky water.

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Because it was a mess.

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_00]: But that North Fork Reservoir services most people in Asheville.

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_00]: The B Tree Reservoir services only about 20 percent.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Also, lines at the North Fork Water Treatment Facility, the principal plant in the system, according to the Citizen Times.

[00:06:32] [SPEAKER_00]: The lines were completely destroyed.

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_00]: And they showed this to the media last week, I want to say.

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Where they had buried lines 25 feet deep.

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And the backup water line was buried 25 feet deep.

[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_00]: They did this like 20 years ago.

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Like, we're going to bury this backup line so dang deep.

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_00]: It'll never, it'll never fail.

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_00]: And that pipe is gone.

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_00]: That's how much erosion took place in these, what they call slope failure.

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Whether it was a mudslide, a rockslide, landslide, whatever.

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_00]: The slope failure.

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_00]: It just took out.

[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, this entire chunk of land.

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's, that's a two-story house.

[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_00]: That's how deep the lines were buried.

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER_00]: And the force of the water ripped out that, that land 25 feet deep along with the pipes.

[00:07:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Water Department crews did connect a bypass line, a 36-inch bypass line.

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_00]: On Saturday, Buncombe County officials announced that water was flowing through the line.

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was reaching some customers in Swannanoa.

[00:07:53] [SPEAKER_00]: But the water was heavily chlorinated.

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_00]: And it's got a lot of sediment in it.

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER_00]: And part of the problem here also is that once you connect the lines.

[00:08:03] [SPEAKER_00]: And, and you start pressurizing the water through those lines.

[00:08:07] [SPEAKER_00]: You got to flush them, obviously.

[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_00]: But you're also going to learn where all of the leaks now are.

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Because when there was no water in the line, you didn't know what was broken.

[00:08:17] [SPEAKER_00]: It's all underground, right?

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Parts of it's underground.

[00:08:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Parts of the system are underground.

[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_00]: You don't know.

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_00]: There are some tips here.

[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_00]: What to do before your water service returns.

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_00]: They say flip off your breaker, your circuit breaker in your electrical panel.

[00:08:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Turn off the water heater.

[00:08:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Turn off the water to the water heater.

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Turn off hot water to the sinks, right?

[00:08:45] [SPEAKER_00]: So go underneath.

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER_00]: There's, you know, one of the little knobs down there is for the hot water.

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Turn that off.

[00:08:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Also, unscrew and remove the faucet aerators.

[00:08:56] [SPEAKER_00]: These are the little, you may not know this, but on the faucet where, you know, the water comes out,

[00:09:01] [SPEAKER_00]: you put your hand under there to wash your hands, whatever.

[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_00]: There's a little cap that's there.

[00:09:06] [SPEAKER_00]: And it's got like a filter, a little aerator.

[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And it catches a lot of the stuff.

[00:09:11] [SPEAKER_00]: But if you leave that thing on there, it's going to catch all the sediment as it's coming through.

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of times it's best to kind of, you know, put the stopper in the bathtub

[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_00]: and just run the water into the bathtub and fill it that way.

[00:09:23] [SPEAKER_00]: But try to take off the aerator.

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_00]: If you can't see how that works, there may be a little key that's necessary.

[00:09:29] [SPEAKER_00]: You buy them at like Home Depot or Lowe's or Ace Hardware.

[00:09:34] [SPEAKER_00]: And they're real cheap.

[00:09:34] [SPEAKER_00]: It's like three bucks or something.

[00:09:36] [SPEAKER_00]: And they usually get like all these different sizes.

[00:09:38] [SPEAKER_00]: They're little plastic rings that you stick up into the faucet.

[00:09:43] [SPEAKER_00]: And you just kind of unscrew that aerator and it'll come out.

[00:09:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Also, turn off the ice maker in your fridge.

[00:09:51] [SPEAKER_00]: The water is not safe to drink from the tap.

[00:09:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Some customers are told they have to boil it for at least one minute.

[00:09:58] [SPEAKER_00]: They say boil it vigorously for at least one minute.

[00:10:02] [SPEAKER_00]: You can use the water for laundry, for showering.

[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_00]: But do not open your eyes or your mouth.

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_00]: You can use it to wash dishes.

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_00]: But also flush toilets.

[00:10:15] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's a big deal is getting the toilets flushed because you're running into sanitary problems there.

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[00:11:35] [SPEAKER_00]: All right, so a couple of numbers real quick.

[00:11:37] [SPEAKER_00]: This was from also the Asheville Citizen Times.

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Citizen-Times.com is the website.

[00:11:45] [SPEAKER_00]: They break down some of the numbers of the disaster area.

[00:11:50] [SPEAKER_00]: So there have been 93 verified storm-related deaths.

[00:11:56] [SPEAKER_00]: 93.

[00:11:57] [SPEAKER_00]: That is according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as of yesterday.

[00:12:05] [SPEAKER_00]: There are rumors and speculation that the numbers are much, much higher.

[00:12:11] [SPEAKER_00]: We do expect the numbers to be higher.

[00:12:13] [SPEAKER_00]: These are just the ones that have been verified.

[00:12:18] [SPEAKER_00]: I've seen no confirmation.

[00:12:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And in fact, I've seen rejection of stories that there are bodies piled up in various shelter areas or whatever.

[00:12:31] [SPEAKER_00]: No law enforcement in that area has confirmed anything like that.

[00:12:37] [SPEAKER_00]: So for now, the death count is 93.

[00:12:43] [SPEAKER_00]: But we do expect that number to increase.

[00:12:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Duke Energy customers in North Carolina have had power restored.

[00:12:56] [SPEAKER_00]: There's like a million of them that have had power restored, which has been awesome.

[00:13:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Duke Energy and all of the crews.

[00:13:04] [SPEAKER_00]: And all of the crews that came from all over the country and even from Canada to come down and help restore power to this area,

[00:13:12] [SPEAKER_00]: which I've seen equated to the size of Belgium.

[00:13:16] [SPEAKER_00]: That's the kind of scope that we're looking at.

[00:13:21] [SPEAKER_00]: It is a massive area.

[00:13:24] [SPEAKER_00]: I think people.

[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I think a lot of people are frustrated and we as Americans are, yes, impatient.

[00:13:33] [SPEAKER_00]: For progress.

[00:13:34] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, we want stuff to be fixed now.

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_00]: We're impatient about a lot of stuff.

[00:13:40] [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of this takes time and it is made more complicated by the size of the area.

[00:13:47] [SPEAKER_00]: You're talking, you know, 25 counties.

[00:13:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And.

[00:13:52] [SPEAKER_00]: The topography of it as well.

[00:13:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Very mountainous, very dangerous.

[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Roads are gone.

[00:14:00] [SPEAKER_00]: So you can't get to a lot of areas.

[00:14:05] [SPEAKER_00]: And so you're, you're battling all of that.

[00:14:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Plus the communication systems went down and a lot of them are still not functioning properly.

[00:14:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Nor at full strength.

[00:14:17] [SPEAKER_00]: They've kind of done a patchwork of, of, you know, comms to get by and things are improving.

[00:14:24] [SPEAKER_00]: But.

[00:14:26] [SPEAKER_00]: It's, it's very bad and it's going to be bad for a while.

[00:14:32] [SPEAKER_00]: So.

[00:14:35] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, again.

[00:14:36] [SPEAKER_00]: People are impatient.

[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_00]: They want this stuff fixed and they want the suffering to end immediately.

[00:14:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And.

[00:14:42] [SPEAKER_00]: People get angry and they start yelling and they lash out at each other.

[00:14:46] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's not, that's not particularly helpful.

[00:14:49] [SPEAKER_00]: You know.

[00:14:53] [SPEAKER_00]: 10 million cubic yards of debris was created by the storm.

[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_00]: According to the Army Corps of Engineers.

[00:15:01] [SPEAKER_00]: That is enough debris to fill the Empire State Building.

[00:15:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Eight times.

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_00]: That's how much debris has been created.

[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_00]: 31 and a third inches.

[00:15:13] [SPEAKER_00]: That is the three day rainfall total.

[00:15:16] [SPEAKER_00]: In Yancey County between September 25th through the 27th.

[00:15:20] [SPEAKER_00]: 31 inches.

[00:15:22] [SPEAKER_00]: In about two and a half days.

[00:15:24] [SPEAKER_00]: That is among the highest in the state.

[00:15:26] [SPEAKER_00]: The September 27th rainfall total alone was just under 15 inches.

[00:15:33] [SPEAKER_00]: In one day.

[00:15:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Um.

[00:15:39] [SPEAKER_00]: The Swan and Noah River.

[00:15:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Which is.

[00:15:42] [SPEAKER_00]: There are two rivers that are.

[00:15:43] [SPEAKER_00]: You know.

[00:15:44] [SPEAKER_00]: The main rivers in Asheville area.

[00:15:45] [SPEAKER_00]: One is Swan and Noah River.

[00:15:47] [SPEAKER_00]: The other is the French Broad.

[00:15:48] [SPEAKER_00]: And.

[00:15:50] [SPEAKER_00]: The Swan and Noah River is the one that's in Biltmore Village.

[00:15:54] [SPEAKER_00]: That river.

[00:15:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Which, you know.

[00:15:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Usually is.

[00:15:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.

[00:15:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Like.

[00:15:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Four feet.

[00:16:01] [SPEAKER_00]: You know.

[00:16:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Like five feet.

[00:16:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe.

[00:16:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Like you could walk across that river.

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Most days.

[00:16:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Flood stage for the Swan and Noah is 10 feet.

[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_00]: And.

[00:16:12] [SPEAKER_00]: That registered.

[00:16:14] [SPEAKER_00]: During the flood at 26.

[00:16:16] [SPEAKER_00]: 26.

[00:16:17] [SPEAKER_00]: 26 feet.

[00:16:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Um.

[00:16:20] [SPEAKER_00]: That broke the record.

[00:16:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Of 20.7 feet.

[00:16:25] [SPEAKER_00]: That was set back in the.

[00:16:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Uh.

[00:16:27] [SPEAKER_00]: The great flood of 1916.

[00:16:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Where there are markers all over Asheville.

[00:16:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Commemorating that flood.

[00:16:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Um.

[00:16:34] [SPEAKER_00]: 24.67 feet.

[00:16:37] [SPEAKER_00]: That is the crest of the French Broad.

[00:16:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Again.

[00:16:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Just under 25 feet.

[00:16:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Um.

[00:16:42] [SPEAKER_00]: The previous record there was 23.

[00:16:44] [SPEAKER_00]: 23.

[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Also set during the great flood of 1916.

[00:16:48] [SPEAKER_00]: The French Broad flood stage is at nine and a half.

[00:16:51] [SPEAKER_00]: That's the one.

[00:16:52] [SPEAKER_00]: That took out.

[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Uh.

[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of the River Arts District.

[00:16:55] [SPEAKER_00]: There are about a hundred bridges.

[00:16:57] [SPEAKER_00]: That have been evaluated by the North Carolina DOT.

[00:17:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Uh.

[00:17:01] [SPEAKER_00]: That are going to need to be replaced.

[00:17:03] [SPEAKER_00]: A hundred bridges.

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_00]: The estimated damage.

[00:17:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Is about 250 billion dollars.

[00:17:12] [SPEAKER_00]: It is a.

[00:17:13] [SPEAKER_00]: It is a disaster.

[00:17:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Of unprecedented scope.

[00:17:18] [SPEAKER_00]: We have not seen this kind of.

[00:17:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Flooding.

[00:17:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Or devastation.

[00:17:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Ever.

[00:17:24] [SPEAKER_00]: I would submit.

[00:17:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Ever.

[00:17:25] [SPEAKER_00]: In America.

[00:17:26] [SPEAKER_00]: We haven't seen this.

[00:17:28] [SPEAKER_00]: And so.

[00:17:31] [SPEAKER_00]: I think that has impacted.

[00:17:33] [SPEAKER_00]: People's ability to.

[00:17:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Respond to the disaster.

[00:17:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Because it is literally.

[00:17:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Unlike anything we've ever seen.

[00:17:39] [SPEAKER_00]: All right.

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[00:18:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Until October 15th.

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_00]: So time is running out.

[00:18:32] [SPEAKER_00]: These boxes make great gifts.

[00:18:34] [SPEAKER_00]: For friends.

[00:18:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Family.

[00:18:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Even yourself.

[00:18:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Don't miss out on spreading the joy.

[00:18:38] [SPEAKER_00]: With gifts that support North Carolina based small businesses.

[00:18:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Just visit simply ncgoods.com slash pete.

[00:18:45] [SPEAKER_00]: And check them out.

[00:18:46] [SPEAKER_00]: That's simply ncgoods.com slash pete.

[00:18:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And thanks for being a part of Simply NC Goods story.

[00:18:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's go over to the phones and talk with Cindy.

[00:18:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Hello Cindy.

[00:18:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the show.

[00:18:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Hi Pete.

[00:18:59] [SPEAKER_01]: It's good to talk with you.

[00:19:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks for calling.

[00:19:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh sure.

[00:19:03] [SPEAKER_01]: I listen to the shows starting at 8 o'clock until I get home from work until about 5.

[00:19:09] [SPEAKER_01]: So I get a little dose of all of you in between the work I have to do.

[00:19:12] [SPEAKER_01]: But this subject may or this comment may have been brought up.

[00:19:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Of course we've been talking about things about Kamala and the Biden administration.

[00:19:21] [SPEAKER_01]: About the freebies, the giveaways for illegals.

[00:19:25] [SPEAKER_01]: And I work very closely with a part of our church that has a clothing closet that works with refugees.

[00:19:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Of course the difference being that they do the paperwork.

[00:19:39] [SPEAKER_01]: They work through the agencies, local agencies.

[00:19:41] [SPEAKER_01]: And we work with them and get the word out when we have our free clothing closet.

[00:19:46] [SPEAKER_01]: And we're serving these people.

[00:19:48] [SPEAKER_01]: And some of these people have waited 18 months, some longer to get here the right and the legal way.

[00:19:54] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think that it is criminal.

[00:19:57] [SPEAKER_01]: I would love for her to explain to one of these refugees why they have come over here, a lot of them, with only the clothing on their backs.

[00:20:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Some of them are very timid because some of them are from Ukraine and some of these countries that are in war.

[00:20:13] [SPEAKER_01]: They're trying to get here to be safe.

[00:20:15] [SPEAKER_01]: And I'd love for her to apologize to them for them having to wait and do it legally versus somebody just walking across and the problems that we're having.

[00:20:29] [SPEAKER_01]: And I just want to bring that up because there's a lot of people that are here for the right reasons, doing the right thing.

[00:20:35] [SPEAKER_01]: And I just I feel bad for them when I see them.

[00:20:38] [SPEAKER_01]: I think about that.

[00:20:39] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think what if they know about this or if they wonder themselves?

[00:20:43] [SPEAKER_00]: No, Cindy, they get away with it.

[00:20:45] [SPEAKER_00]: They they of course know about the difference in legal versus illegal immigration.

[00:20:49] [SPEAKER_00]: They don't care.

[00:20:50] [SPEAKER_00]: They don't care.

[00:20:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Appreciate the call.

[00:20:53] [SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, it's a frustration that people who support I support legal immigration.

[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_00]: I want the best and the brightest on the planet to live here.

[00:21:03] [SPEAKER_00]: I want people who want to buy into the American dream and the system.

[00:21:09] [SPEAKER_00]: I want those people here.

[00:21:11] [SPEAKER_00]: They want to be here.

[00:21:12] [SPEAKER_00]: They're going to make our country better, going to make it better than every other country because we we unleash their potential.

[00:21:21] [SPEAKER_00]: But if you're trying to if you're trying to change.

[00:21:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Fundamentally transform America into something else, then a lot of this makes more sense.

[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_00]: So reassess your assumptions.

[00:21:33] [SPEAKER_00]: If what you're seeing, if the results don't make sense, reassess your assumptions.

[00:21:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Let me go over and talk to Kevin.

[00:21:42] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, hello, Kevin.

[00:21:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the show.

[00:21:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Hey, Peter.

[00:21:46] [SPEAKER_02]: How are you?

[00:21:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Hey, I'm good.

[00:21:47] [SPEAKER_00]: What's up?

[00:21:49] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, I heard your statistics and I'm on my way.

[00:21:52] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm out of air shot range of the station now.

[00:21:56] [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm only relying on my phone.

[00:21:58] [SPEAKER_02]: But we're going up to cook some fraternity brothers of mine and I are looking for a company, a company, a town that's outside.

[00:22:05] [SPEAKER_02]: But the last radius, if you will, of all the focus of the attention and we're basically 25, 30 minutes northwest of West Jefferson.

[00:22:16] [SPEAKER_00]: OK.

[00:22:17] [SPEAKER_02]: And the poor little town has just been obliterated.

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_02]: Everybody, all the folks is going to Asheville.

[00:22:24] [SPEAKER_02]: And I get it.

[00:22:25] [SPEAKER_02]: I understand some of that.

[00:22:26] [SPEAKER_02]: But there is so much more, you know, a wider path that this thing took down that it's just shocking.

[00:22:33] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, the local pastor also happens to be on the fire department for the area.

[00:22:38] [SPEAKER_02]: And he said the water crested in their area at over 50 feet.

[00:22:43] [SPEAKER_02]: I think he said 58 feet deep.

[00:22:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:22:49] [SPEAKER_02]: It's shocking.

[00:22:51] [SPEAKER_02]: It's absolutely shocking.

[00:22:53] [SPEAKER_02]: So we're cooking for the people that are pitching in a little bit of National Guard, a lot of individuals, Samaritan's purses there.

[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_02]: And we're cooking three squares a day for them and hoping to get 10, 12 days out of our setup and then regroup, turn around and come back and do it again.

[00:23:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, thank you for doing that.

[00:23:14] [SPEAKER_00]: God bless you for doing it.

[00:23:16] [SPEAKER_00]: I know they appreciate it.

[00:23:17] [SPEAKER_00]: I appreciate it.

[00:23:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's like I said, it's the size and scope of this that it's not been seen before.

[00:23:25] [SPEAKER_00]: And I think people are trying to overlay past experiences onto this to say this is what should be happening at this stage.

[00:23:35] [SPEAKER_00]: But the challenges that are presented just by the nature of the devastation and the size of it and the topography of it and the lack of communication, it's just this perfect storm of the worst things.

[00:23:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:23:51] [SPEAKER_02]: Pastor Darrell has been a pastor at the church, Big Laurel Church, for 50 years.

[00:23:56] [SPEAKER_02]: He said the last, the most deepest he's ever seen it that they could measure was about 25, 30 feet.

[00:24:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:24:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:24:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Some of the gauges were just obliterated.

[00:24:07] [SPEAKER_00]: They don't even know how bad it got because or how high some waters ran because the gauges that they had installed are gone.

[00:24:15] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, they just they.

[00:24:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, they just washed away.

[00:24:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:24:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Kevin, I appreciate it.

[00:24:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:24:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Stay safe, man.

[00:24:21] [SPEAKER_00]: I appreciate you.

[00:24:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.

[00:24:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Appreciate your show.

[00:24:24] [SPEAKER_00]: All right.

[00:24:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Take care.

[00:24:26] [SPEAKER_00]: There is a report that had come out.

[00:24:28] [SPEAKER_00]: The Washington Post, I think, did this story and it got everybody all all excited and outraged because that's what we do best.

[00:24:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Federal emergency response personnel over the weekend on Saturday had employees operating in Rutherford County.

[00:24:46] [SPEAKER_00]: They had to stop working and move to a different area because of concerns over, quote, armed militia threatening government workers in the region, according to an email sent to federal agencies helping with response in the state.

[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_00]: At about one o'clock on Saturday, an official with the U.S. Forest Service, which is supporting recovery efforts with FEMA, sent an urgent message to numerous federal agencies warning that, quote, FEMA has advised all federal responders in Rutherford County to stand down and evacuate the county immediately.

[00:25:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Recently, the message stated that the National Guard troops had come across two trucks of armed militia saying they were out hunting FEMA, which I don't know.

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Like when I first read that, I thought, well, that seems like it could be verified.

[00:25:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[00:25:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Who talked to them?

[00:25:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Who do they say that to?

[00:25:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, we have a we have a press release now from the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office that they received a call at about one o'clock on October 12th.

[00:25:53] [SPEAKER_00]: So Saturday stating that a white male, a white male had an assault rifle and made the comment about possibly harming FEMA employees working after the disaster of Hurricane Helene in the Lake Lord Chimney Rock area.

[00:26:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Once deputies of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office were made aware, the deputies alerted officers with the Lake Lord Police Department and other law enforcement officers from other agencies helping with relief efforts.

[00:26:17] [SPEAKER_00]: A deputy went to the location where the threat was made, which was located in Polk County and obtained more information.

[00:26:24] [SPEAKER_00]: The deputy was able to get a color of the vehicle.

[00:26:26] [SPEAKER_00]: The subject was driving and passed the vehicle color along to all law enforcement agencies working.

[00:26:31] [SPEAKER_00]: About an hour later, the sheriff's office received information regarding the tag of the suspect vehicle.

[00:26:36] [SPEAKER_00]: After additional information was obtained, law enforcement was able to identify the suspect.

[00:26:42] [SPEAKER_00]: William Jacob Parsons, 44 year old white male out of Bostick, North Carolina.

[00:26:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Parsons was arrested and charged with going armed to the terror of the public.

[00:26:53] [SPEAKER_00]: He was armed with a handgun and a rifle.

[00:26:55] [SPEAKER_00]: He was taken into custody.

[00:26:57] [SPEAKER_00]: The sheriff's detention center charged and presented to a magistrate.

[00:27:01] [SPEAKER_00]: He received a $10,000 secured bond.

[00:27:04] [SPEAKER_00]: He made bond and was released later the same evening.

[00:27:07] [SPEAKER_00]: The initial report stated there was a truckload of militia.

[00:27:11] [SPEAKER_00]: However, after further investigation, it was determined Parsons acted alone.

[00:27:16] [SPEAKER_00]: There were no truckloads of militia going to Lake Lure.

[00:27:21] [SPEAKER_00]: So would that be the federal agents that are engaging in the misinformation there?

[00:27:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Or is that still Trump's fault?

[00:27:30] [SPEAKER_00]: So when I was a kid, my grandpa died with Alzheimer's.

[00:27:33] [SPEAKER_00]: And before he died, my mom and my dad and all of us really helped take care of him as he got progressively worse.

[00:27:39] [SPEAKER_00]: 40 years ago, there were no treatments and not much support for caregivers and family.

[00:27:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Things are different today because of the work of so many people, including the Alzheimer's Association of Western North Carolina.

[00:27:50] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a great organization with awesome people.

[00:27:53] [SPEAKER_00]: They've got huge hearts.

[00:27:54] [SPEAKER_00]: I've been a supporter for like 25 years.

[00:27:56] [SPEAKER_00]: This cause means a lot to me.

[00:27:58] [SPEAKER_00]: I participate in the annual walk to end Alzheimer's.

[00:28:01] [SPEAKER_00]: And I am leading a Charlotte team this year.

[00:28:04] [SPEAKER_00]: It's called Pete's Pack.

[00:28:05] [SPEAKER_00]: You can sign up and join the team and walk with me.

[00:28:08] [SPEAKER_00]: It's on October 19th at Truist Field in Uptown.

[00:28:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Sign up at alz.org slash walk and then just look for my team, Pete's Pack.

[00:28:17] [SPEAKER_00]: And there's also a link in the podcast description here.

[00:28:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Also, I'm going to be emceeing the Gastonia Walk on October 5th.

[00:28:23] [SPEAKER_00]: So make a team and join us or make a donation to help me hit my goal.

[00:28:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I would really appreciate it.

[00:28:28] [SPEAKER_00]: There are a bunch of other walks around the Carolinas.

[00:28:31] [SPEAKER_00]: And you can go to alz.org for all of the dates and locations.

[00:28:36] [SPEAKER_00]: We are closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer's.

[00:28:39] [SPEAKER_00]: And if you can help us get there, we would really appreciate it.

[00:28:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Will you come walk with me for a different future, for families, for more time, for treatments?

[00:28:48] [SPEAKER_00]: This is why I walk.

[00:28:49] [SPEAKER_00]: I did get a question.

[00:28:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Where was it here?

[00:28:53] [SPEAKER_00]: On Twitter.

[00:28:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Philip wanted to know if there was a way to get the true body count.

[00:28:58] [SPEAKER_00]: No.

[00:28:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Not right now.

[00:29:01] [SPEAKER_00]: We don't know.

[00:29:02] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, and there may be people whose bodies are never recovered because of the scope of this disaster.

[00:29:12] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, do you know what a 20-foot wall of mud does to the human body when it fills up?

[00:29:22] [SPEAKER_00]: So we were coming back on the interstate, and we saw a couple of wreckers towing campers that were completely destroyed.

[00:29:35] [SPEAKER_00]: And, like, you could see all the windows were broken out, and all of the furniture inside was all, you know, torn up and caked in mud.

[00:29:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Like, that's what you're dealing with.

[00:29:48] [SPEAKER_00]: So we don't have an official death toll, and we're not going to know those numbers for a while.

[00:29:56] [SPEAKER_00]: People still haven't been able to get a hold of their loved ones because of the communication situation.

[00:30:02] [SPEAKER_00]: People lost their phones, right?

[00:30:04] [SPEAKER_00]: They can't call their contact.

[00:30:06] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, how many phone numbers do you know off the top of your head?

[00:30:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Like, the younger people, they don't even, I don't think they even ever learned phone numbers, you know?

[00:30:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Older folks probably have a bunch committed to memory by this point, but it's one of those things that we just don't have to remember anymore.

[00:30:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Buncombe County Spokeswoman Lillian Govis, or Govis, said on Friday that the county does not have a total of missing persons,

[00:30:34] [SPEAKER_00]: to release at this time.

[00:30:36] [SPEAKER_00]: They cannot provide a number of missing persons.

[00:30:40] [SPEAKER_00]: FEMA is opening a center today in Asheville to help families that are looking for their loved ones.

[00:30:48] [SPEAKER_00]: I also got a message from Michael regarding the restoration of water service.

[00:30:54] [SPEAKER_00]: If you have a water heater, drain the water heater so the water inside does not go stagnant.

[00:31:05] [SPEAKER_00]: So, not only should you shut it down, but you should drain it out.

[00:31:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Try to capture the water.

[00:31:09] [SPEAKER_00]: If there's any water that's still in there, try to capture what you can.

[00:31:12] [SPEAKER_00]: But, yeah, try to, you know, you just, and that's, there's a spigot that's at the bottom of the water heater,

[00:31:18] [SPEAKER_00]: and you just hook a hose to it, you know, and then drain it out.

[00:31:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Try to capture the water.

[00:31:23] [SPEAKER_00]: If you can, you could use it to flush toilets with, but, yeah, you should, you should do that,

[00:31:29] [SPEAKER_00]: because the water system is coming back online, but it's, the water's not drinkable,

[00:31:33] [SPEAKER_00]: and you don't want to heat it up.

[00:31:35] [SPEAKER_00]: It's got a lot of sediment in it.

[00:31:39] [SPEAKER_00]: And so, just, and turn off your hot water heater, turn off the hot water at the spigots, you know,

[00:31:46] [SPEAKER_00]: under the sink and stuff.

[00:31:48] [SPEAKER_00]: We went through all of that earlier in the hour.

[00:31:54] [SPEAKER_00]: This original story from the Washington Post that was then picked up and run with all over the place,

[00:31:59] [SPEAKER_00]: because, you know, it fits a narrative that is very popular on the left of what those people must be like,

[00:32:08] [SPEAKER_00]: that, oh, yeah, they created militias out there, okay?

[00:32:13] [SPEAKER_00]: So, and they're threatening FEMA.

[00:32:14] [SPEAKER_00]: They're going to go and hunt down FEMA agents and the like.

[00:32:18] [SPEAKER_00]: And it turned out to be one guy who made threats.

[00:32:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Authorities picked him up.

[00:32:24] [SPEAKER_00]: There was no two truckloads of militia people, you know, on the hunt.

[00:32:31] [SPEAKER_00]: But still, you know, some federal employees, some Forest Service worker,

[00:32:37] [SPEAKER_00]: sent an email to all of these other federal employees and agencies saying that, you know,

[00:32:44] [SPEAKER_00]: I heard this is what happened, and then they pulled out all of their people, all the personnel,

[00:32:49] [SPEAKER_00]: had them all shelter in place in various locations.

[00:32:54] [SPEAKER_00]: So, like, whose fault is that?

[00:32:56] [SPEAKER_00]: But you can't blame that on Facebook.

[00:33:01] [SPEAKER_00]: But people are, you know, oh, there's social media.

[00:33:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, those right-wingers.

[00:33:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Donald Trump did something or something.

[00:33:07] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.

[00:33:09] [SPEAKER_00]: People, you know, just try to be a little skeptical.

[00:33:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Try to take a deep breath.

[00:33:16] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, try to check your biases.

[00:33:19] [SPEAKER_00]: It's not helpful.

[00:33:21] [SPEAKER_00]: This stuff is not helpful.

[00:33:22] [SPEAKER_00]: All right, that'll do it for this episode.

[00:33:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for listening.

[00:33:25] [SPEAKER_00]: I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise

[00:33:29] [SPEAKER_00]: on the podcast.

[00:33:30] [SPEAKER_00]: So, if you'd like, please support them, too, and tell them you heard it here.

[00:33:34] [SPEAKER_00]: You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecalendershow.com.

[00:33:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Again, thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.

[00:33:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.

[00:33:43] Thank you.