Daniel Holt works in Graham now, but before he called the Triad home, he worked as a firefighter in Buncombe County.
GRAHAM, N.C. — Helping the mountains recover from the wrath of Helene has required a statewide response. Some of those included first responders from other agencies pitching in, like Graham Fire Engineer Daniel Holt.
Holt deployed to Buncombe County, home to Asheville, on Sept. 27. He spent four days there before returning home to his wife and newborn son.
Everyone in the state likely feels a personal tie to the horrors caused by the storm. It runs deeper for Holt, who worked as a firefighter in Buncombe County years ago.
“It kind of wrenches on your heart a little bit to know that I probably know some of those people,” Holt said.
As of Thursday, Oct. 3 afternoon, Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller (D) said 72 people there have now died from the storm.
One of them is Battalion Chief Tony …