Even the tallest tree on the hill had trouble standing as the remnants of Hurricane Helene rushed through the western North Carolina mountains.

Former NC State All-America basketball player Tom Burleson, the 7-foot-2 center on the Wolfpack’s 1974 NCAA Championship team, lives on the overflowed banks of Squirrel Creek in Avery County, which was among the hardest hit of the 26 western counties affected by last Friday’s storm. So far, the state of North Carolina has confirmed nearly 200 fatalities.

“Every utility pole in the county is down,” Burleson says. “I’ve been walking down to the creek every day to get buckets of water to flush the toilets.

“It’s a mess. Everywhere you look is just devastated.”

Burleson was born on a mountain in Avery County and returned there after his days of playing basketball and speedboat racing were over. For 28 years, he served as the county’s director of planning and inspections and the director of the building and code department until he retired in 2022. He knows every inch of the land that was once there, some of which is now gone.

“As a former member of the Emergency Management Team in the county, this is the worst storm ever, by far,” says Burleson, who helped rebuild and repair the area after other inland storms roared through in 1998 and 2004. “We’re easily looking at a $2 billion recovery effort.

“Many are still stranded in the hollows and can’t leave their homes because the roads are completely impassable.”

The former Avery County commissioner rode out the storm at his home with his family, which includes wife Denise; sons Robert, David and Quentin and their families.

“We were here at home for the storm, and it hit hard,” Burleson says. “Our driveway and all the roads around us washed out. Two people on the road where I live died during the storm and they are still pulling bodies out of Lake James, the Watauga, the North Toe and the French Broad rivers.

“We had six inches of water in the basement and they’ve told us the earliest we will get power restored is four to six weeks. Fortunately, one of my sons lives next to an electrical substation. If it wasn’t for that, we’d be in really bad shape. Overall, I’m very blessed.”

Life-sustaining aid is arriving from disaster relief organizations and federal agencies.

“FEMA is set up near here and we have Blackhawk helicopters landing close by to deliver supplies,” he says. “It is what it is. We have a long road ahead of us.”

Unfortunately for many, that road will be washed out for quite awhile.

Burleson has been able to leave his home in order to get supplies and recharge batteries and devices.

“Thankfully, my generator is still working,” he said via a cellphone call. “I’m in Johnson City, Tennessee, right now buying supplies and a backup generator.” 

In the face of tragedy, there are always stories of good deeds, and Burleson has participated in and benefitted from a couple of those, including one from Wednesday night.

“We woke up this morning and found two cases of water and two containers with six gallons of water,” Burleson said. “Santa Claus came early for us.”

Burleson was able to come down off the mountain to make a doctor’s appointment in Winston-Salem on Tuesday and will return next week for heart surgery. It’s been a rough week, with an uncertain future.

“Maybe just keep us all in your prayers,” he says.

Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu.

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