Hurricane Helene – Resilient Through the Rain 

On the morning of September 27, Hurricane Helene unleashed torrential rain and whipped through the area with powerful winds. Moving swiftly, the storm’s eye passed directly over our communities, leaving a path of devastation that no one anticipated. As the sun began to rise, the true extent of the destruction became clear. Roads were impassable, filled with debris, making it impossible for many to get to work. Power outages were widespread, and communication was cut off – no phone service, no internet – leaving many in a state of uncertainty.  

“Our crew had been closely monitoring the storm’s trajectory in the days leading up to landfall” said CEO Jeff Wilson. “While we anticipated some impact in our areas, the extent of the damage was beyond what we could have predicted.” 

Our technicians sprang into action early that morning, working tirelessly throughout the weekend to assess the damage and coordinate restoration efforts. They focused on identifying outages and creating a plan to begin repairs as soon as it was safe to do so. No part of our service area escaped the storm’s rage. Each community experienced significant damage, some more severely than others. Yet, through it all, our fiber network demonstrated remarkable resilience. Thanks to our buried infrastructure, much of our network remained intact despite the intensity of the storm.  

The communities faced considerable confusion as the days progressed. Customer service calls surged to nearly 15,000 this past month, exceeding our typical monthly average by more than 3,000. Over 2,500 storm-related trouble tickets were submitted, and our Network Operations Center handled over 8,000 calls. In the West Carolina area alone, we repaired 100 drops, 150 emergency locates, 15 pedestal repairs, and 5 cable repairs. All services were successfully restored by October 16.  

Many customers were able to connect their internet routers to generators, maintaining service even during power outages. Our offices also operated on generators, allowing individuals to use our WiFi hotspots and charge their devices in our lobbies. “It was really great to see how we could support our community by opening our office space,” said Shannon Sears, Director of Commercial Operations. “We saw people filling our spaces using the internet to communicate through loved ones, check emails, and even to pay bills.”  

Our WiFi hotspots, originally introduced during the era of COVID, once again played a pivotal role in keeping our communities connected. This experience offered a glimpse of a world without the internet, and how different that life would be. Everything we currently do involves cell service or internet. Having that taken away for a brief period shocked our systems.  

While we may never expect another storm of this magnitude in our lifetimes, we see this as a chance to prepare and reassess our approach. Hurricane Helene tested us, but together, we’ve emerged stronger and more resilient.