Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools sends aid to help hard-hit Buncombe County Schools after Helene

WINSTON-SALEM. N.C. (WGHP) — The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School district is sending a handful of people westward to assist Buncombe County Schools.

That's the county where Asheville is and where the most fatalities have been reported in North Carolina due to Hurricane Helene.

They have 22,000 students and almost 4,000 staff members, and schools there are closed at least through this week but likely longer.

WS/FCS is hoping that with a little help, faculty and staff members can at least access some of the schools that are currently impossible to get to.

WSFCS Grounds Supervisor Thad Carter is one of the crewmen who will hit the road bright and early from Winston-Salem and travel west toward Asheville.

"The biggest struggle is finding the roads to go. All the highways are closed. We think we are going to go Highway 26," Carter said.

Buncombe County, home to the city of Asheville, is among the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene. Roads were washed away, floodwaters rose above businesses and homes and at least 30 people lost their lives.

"I am expecting the worst," Carter said.

Officials at WS/FCS connected with the operations team at BCS and learned they can't even get to many of their campuses.

"We're going to take our skid-steer and our mini-excavator to remove trees to get access to the school buildings," Carter said.

"That team up there is taxed. It's understaffed right now because a lot of people can't get there. Some are dealing with their own carnage at home and are unable to respond and try to help," Executive Director of Facilities at WS/FCS Justin Dyson said.

For Dyson, it's also personal.

"I have a sister that lives in Mars Hill," he said.

That's just 15 miles from Asheville, and conditions are just as dire.

"A mile from their house, bridges are gone. Roads are gone," Dyson said.

He says if his crew can make a difference in helping students get back to class, it's another step toward recovery.

"Power, roads, schools, all components to putting things back together, and they're all going to take time, but I don't pretend to understand what we are sending our team into," Dyson said.

"I felt like every bit of help we can give them ... would be a good helping hand," Carter said.

The crew members hauling the heavy equipment will leave Tuesday around 5 a.m.

The school district will be collecting water to load two school buses to take to Watauga County on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at their headquarters on Corporate Square Drive.