Above a mountain view of the Carolinas and underneath a gaping hole from roof paneling that Hurricane Helene took out, the wooden cross at YMCA Camp Greenville’s Fred W. Symmes Chapel, or “Pretty Place,” still stands.
The view, said Sam Franklin, the YMCA camp’s president and chief executive, is “a light and a beacon of hope” amid areas of the 1,400-acre property that are close to unrecognizable, littered with fallen trees and other storm damage.
Recovery efforts began quickly after Helene hit the Upstate on Sept. 27. Crews had to chainsaw their way up the road to reach the camp that sits on the eastern ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
But assessing the damage is far from over.
On Thursday morning, the camp’s structures and multiple family-occupied dwellings still operated on generator power, and crews continued to clear storm debris from the narrow and winding mountain roads.
More: Sign up for text message updates and crucial information in Hurricane Helene’s aftermath
Franklin said that insurance and FEMA assessments were expected to take place into the weekend, but he still anticipated a hefty repair bill for what’s not covered, prompting an appeal for community donations: “That’s our biggest cry for help right now.”