This story has been updated because a previous version included an inaccuracy.
FLETCHER – When Tropical Storm Helene slammed Western North Carolina in September 2024, the isolation and confusion that came with the widespread power, utility and communications outages were among the disaster’s hallmarks.
At a June 12 event at MANNA Food Bank, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson joined local leaders for a public reveal of an initiative aiming to make sure communities are better prepared to handle another disaster in that mold…