NORTH CAROLINA ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — On Friday, October 4th, QCN Photojournalist Brian Christiansen flew on an NC National Guard Blackhawk helicopter from Salisbury, all the way to the collapsed I-40 highway and back.
He flew 2 missions in 12 hours with local & state emergency management who were surveying the flooding damage.
Their first stop was Rutherford County where they picked up law enforcement and fire officials. Next was Lake Lure. They flew completely around the shores of the entire lake. “Every few minutes I turned around and could see the shock on the faces of the officials,” Brian said.
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They flew upriver and saw the damage done to the town of Chimney Rock- several of its buildings, bridges, and roads were gone.
After a full tour of the area, the pilots gained enough elevation so that they were looking down on Chimney Rock, with the American Flag waving in the wind. It almost looked as if it was at half-staff.