In the days after Helene, Drew Reisinger’s office looked nothing like county government. The Buncombe County Register of Deeds wasn’t recording land transactions — he and a handful of staff and friends were building a lifeline. He helped develop a website, a phone line, a growing list of people who couldn’t reach their loved ones.
That list turned into something even more significant. Volunteers showed up by the thousands. They checked on more than 15,000 households, hauled water, delivered food — even flushed toilets for neighbors cut off by the storm.
A year later, Reisinger says he’s still struck by what happened.
“We leaned on the community to be part of the solution,” Reisinger said. “It was so heartwarming to be part of that bubble of humanity coming together.”
Looking back, he says the lesson is simple.
“I think if there’s anything I took away from this that I think could be replicated elsewhere,” he said, “it’s leaning on the community to be part of the solution and not just saying government alone can do this.”
