A planned fundraising run at the Anderson County Regional Airport on Saturday morning gave Scott Dunn and Joey Hooker a bit of a breather, they didn’t exactly want it, but boy, did they need the forced hour or two of a break.
They haven’t paused much in the last week since they made a helicopter flight in the hours after Helene ravaged Western North Carolina.
A friend asked Dunn to fly to Banner Elk, N.C., to rescue his in-laws, who were stranded.
When they landed, it resembled a combat zone, said Hooker, who, like Dunn, is a military veteran.
“We saw such devastation,” Dunn said.
When they landed, people ran over and filled up three pages of notebook paper with names, phone numbers, and messages to pass along to the outside.
Since that impromptu Saturday rescue, Dunn, who runs Heli-Plane Aviation in Anderson, and Hooker, who works with him, have helped to coordinate dozens of flights.
“We sent 80,000 pounds Friday,” Dunn said.
Saturday’s relief effort may mark a bit of a turning point, he said.