Tryon residents, rescue workers band together in face of disaster

TRYON — “I’ll never forget the look on his face. The pain, the devastation, the fear,” said Melanie Estrada. “It was really scary Friday night. We didn’t know if it would happen again. It was like a freight train. It was so loud.”

Estrada, along with her husband, Mitch Webb, owns the former Tryon Youth Center on Highway 176. Estrada heard the mudslide Friday night and went outside to see what had happened.

“It was insane,” she said. “It was so dark you couldn’t see anything.”

Estrada described the trees falling and the mud, power poles and rocks piled everywhere as water flowed across the road. She said a few residents began walking toward lights they could see far down the road in the direction of Tryon.

Estrada’s story was jumbled, and filled with emotion.

Several times, she paused to express her regret and concern for the family of Patricia Case — the Tryon woman who died after her home was struck by a mudslide during the storm on Friday — and their loss. Estrada said her heart went out to them and others whose homes were damaged.

Estrada tried to talk about the heroism she witnessed in the absolute dark of a rainy night, when the power was out and the only light was a couple of flashlights.

She choked up as she talked of how the community came together to help and support each other. Words failed her as she tried to name the two firefighters who walked back up the highway through absolute darkness, wading across mud and debris to try and help.

Estrada shared her story on Monday evening as dump trucks rolled by carrying tons upon tons of mud, rock, trees and debris to the landfill. Other residents stopped to check in. They reported having bottled water, but wished they could get a shower.

“All the water coming out of the wells looks like that,” said one resident, who wished to remain anonymous.

He nodded toward the flow of muddy water still streaming across the asphalt.

“The water usually clarifies in a couple of days,” he said. “We’ll manage.”

Of course, the wells could not be used without power. Estrada said they had power for a brief time on Sunday, but it was out again.

Farther up the road, where another large mudslide had blocked the highway and water had eaten a cave-like maw under the asphalt, Bill Basye walked his dog, Roady, past a field piled with trees and boulders.

He stopped to check in with the construction crew who had been working all day, and were still hard at it at 8 p.m. that night.

Basye and Roady were still without power, and the crews said it would probably be Tuesday evening before it would return.

Bayse lives just south an old quarry that dumped thousands of gallons of water down the mountainside and filled an acre field across the road with trees and debris. Fortunately, his house was untouched, but he was asking how to clean the deep mud and sand from his lawn.

“We were watching the river rise Friday night. It was getting dark and the power was out,” Bayse said. “I saw water flowing past on this side of the house, where water shouldn’t be. Then it started turning into debris.”

On Saturday morning, Bayse was able to drive down to the Caro-Mi Dinning Hall where several people were trapped overnight. He waded up past his knees in the mud to get to the people.

Basye described how rescue workers placed wooden pallets across the mud to help the people get out. He used his car to drive rescue workers into the site and help transport refugees up the road to help.

Construction workers have been putting in 16-hour shifts to clean up the mess and open the roads enough for emergency vehicles to get through. On Monday afternoon, rescue workers went door to door to check on people and find out if they were alright and if they needed anything.

The Red Cross has been on-site with hot meals for residents, rescue crews and cleanup crews. DOT has brought in crews from as far away as Haywood and Cherokee counties, and pulled crews and equipment off the Interstate 26 construction site in Columbus.

Though her basement is filled with water, Estrada herself feels very fortunate and blessed. Though she and her husband are new to the area, she feels she has made lifelong friends of her neighbors.

“I’ll never forget the heroism that came out of that night,” Estrada said. “I’ve never been so honored to be a part of a community.”