The rafters of Western North Carolina’s whitewater raced against time to save people from the Helen flood.

North Carolina Rafting Company Teams Up with Fire Department for Water Rescue

As floodwaters rushed through the remote mountain communities of Western North Carolina, local residents raced against time to save each other. Jim Hampton was among the rafters of French Broad Adventures who worked with the Walnut Volunteer Fire Department on rapid water rescues after the Helena flood.

MADISON COUNTY, NC – Experienced rough water rafters in North Carolina spent more than two weeks on the French Broad River after the hurricane. Helen‘s floodsaving their neighbors in extreme conditions.

Brothers Jim, Mike and Mitch Hampton, along with Mitch’s wife Corey, are part of the Walnut Volunteer Fire Department rescue team in western North Carolina. Hamptons owns French wide adventures rafting tour company in Madison County, and the entire family has over 145 years of rafting experience. This experience was crucial when the river, which they usually took with them for fun, suddenly became angry.

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Jim Hampton told FOX Weather that calls for water rescue services began coming in on the morning of Sept. 27, the same day. after Helen made landfall in Floridaand just kept coming.

Helena Flood Rescue by Volunteer Rapid Water Rescue Team from the Walnut Fire Department and French Broad Adventures. (Mitch and Corey Hampton)

Hampton said the hardest part was finding time to allow himself to rest between rescue missions.

“Adrenaline is a wild thing, cortisol and, you know, you just get excited and can’t sleep,” he said. “You almost have to fall over from exhaustion, and the next day you do it again.”

24-foot ladder and successful water rescue

For 15 days after Helen’s flood, the team was on the French Broad River with dogs and military personnel, scouring the banks for survivors. One of those calls involved a harrowing rescue at the Iron Horse Station, a landmark hotel in Hot springs.

“There were five people on the top floor. The water was rising and there were concerns that the hotel could be inundated by floodwaters,” Hampton said. “You know, there was a lot of debris falling from this river into this area.”

Hampton said the rescue team was able to enter the building and pull everyone out using a 24-foot ladder attached to a pipeline pipe.

“It actually went pretty smoothly considering we executed our plan,” Hampton said. “Then we had another call.”

However, there are moments on the French Broad River that Hampton said will continue to haunt him.

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The fast-water rescue team tried to reach the man clinging to a tree on the river. Ultimately, the rescue proved too risky and the man was carried away.

Jim Hampton, a volunteer rapid water rescue team member with the Walnut Fire Department on the French Broad River. (Mitch and Corey Hampton)

“There was debris everywhere, and if our 13-foot boat had hit the tree trunk, we would have capsized and we would have been screwed,” Hampton said.

More than a month after Helen, the Walnut Fire Department continues to receive calls for quick water service, but that will be in case a body is found. North Carolina death toll exceeded 100 people this week As recovery efforts continue across the region, damage from Helen is estimated at $53 billion.

Hampton said the community of western North Carolina made the titanic rescue effort possible.

“If it weren’t for the community circling the wagons around us and everyone in the community with food and support, who knows if we would have been able to keep up at all,” he said. “It all really brought a sense of community and pride.”

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