ASHEVILLE, N.C. — When Gov. Roy Cooper activated 175 soldiers from the North Carolina National Guard before Helene, Rachel Bigbee and five others were dispatched to Black Mountain with two military trucks, right on the Swannanoa River. Bigbee said most of her team assumed it would be an easy check, but the next day, the storm hit.
“It’s probably one of the most apocalyptic experiences I’ve ever had. Where you’re just like civilization crumbled because of the force of nature. It was incredible, but also very scary,” Bigbee said.
Bigbee, an Apache attack helicopter mechanic, said her team never expected to be needed as much as they were, especially with the fact that Bigbee had no training for disaster response or water rescue…