FEMA abandons Bat Cave, NC residents over ‘Road Closed’ sign

FEMA’s bureaucratic excuse for not coming to the aid of one small North Carolina town found residents feeling better off due to the agency’s growing reputation.

Made up of a population of less than 200 residents, the unincorporated community of Bat Cave, North Carolina sits to the southeast of Asheville, just before Chimney Rock. More than a week after Hurricane Helene devastated their community, residents told the New York Post that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had yet to arrive because of a “Road Closed” sign.

Speaking with the newspaper, 38-year-old Chelsea Atkins, who sought shelter with her husband and neighbors in a small brick post office when the storm hit, explained, “FEMA called me and told me they wanted to inspect my house then called me back to say they couldn’t drive around the ‘road closed’ sign. They weren’t allowed.”

“You can drive it by car for sure, it’s not that bad, you just have to drive around the ‘road closed sign’. I explained that to them. They said they couldn’t,” the health researcher went on.

The Post detailed:

“Left to fend for themselves, Bat Cave residents banded together — opening the roads and starting the arduous work of cleanup and recovery. Residents told The Post that they don’t need FEMA now — and at this point, they don’t even want the disaster relief agency to come.”

“While the sick and elderly residents of Bat Cave were airlifted to safety a week ago, those left behind have seen virtually no sign of government agencies, save for a handful of Louisiana State Police troopers ‘keeping an eye on everything,’ who locals say haven’t done much of anything.”

“FEMA hasn’t been here,” Atkins said. “The DOT’s been here, and random fire departments, like Kannapolis. They were great. But nobody’s been bringing in supplies except civilians.”

The road was described by the newspaper as, “treacherous, but navigable,” with collapsed sections, downed power lines and, at a portion where the road had washed away, traffic could “navigate a huge chasm through someone’s front yard.”

“It’s been a civilian-run operation since day one. You can’t ask the authorities to help — they’ll say you need to leave,” Atkins went on as she referred to Bat Cave as a “country-boy can survive” sort of place, “We’re handling it. Leave it to us and we’ll get it covered.”

The sentiment was shared by retired Los Angeles fire department captain and paramedic Curtis McCart who said of his Bat Cave community, “At this point, I don’t care if FEMA comes by. I don’t want somebody to pull me out of here, saying I’m working in an unsafe spot. I’m wondering if Big Brother is going to allow us to rebuild.”

The resident estimated that the flood that took out 60-foot tall century-old trees had surpassed the 1916 flood of around 27-30 feet by reaching 40 feet.

As had previously been reported, the alleged incompetence of the Department of Homeland Security agency extended beyond one town, with federal bureaucrats seemingly doing little but impeding the charitable efforts of civilians and state-run agencies.

“We have FEMA trying to shut down this helo field because the FAA isn’t involved,” syndicated radio host and philanthropist Glenn Beck said as his organization Mercury One was on location aiding with relief and recovery. “Screw the FAA! If you had planes down here and you had helicopters yourself and you were rescuing them, then fine, we’d shut this down, but you’re not here.”

Word that a road sign was all it took to stop the federal government led to mockery, derision, and even some relief on social media as users reacted, “This might not be a bad thing, given the reports of FEMA stealing private aid supplies…”

Kevin Haggerty

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles