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USACE Hurricane Helene Response
from America's Engineers: The People, Programs, and Projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers '24-'25
BY PATRICK BLOODGOOD
Army Engineer Regiment Supports Hurricane Helene Response
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, which left a trail of destruction along the Appalachian Mountains from Florida to Virginia, Army Engineers from throughout the Engineer Regiment swung into action supporting the nation’s emergency response efforts.
“The regiment’s response to Helene’s devastation has been nothing short of extraordinary. Our engineers have demonstrated unwavering commitment to support our fellow Americans in their time of need,” said Maj. Gen. Jason Kelly, USACE deputy commanding general for Civil and Emergency Operations. “Through active collaboration with other federal, state and local entities regiment Soldiers and civilians have answered the call of these impacted communities.”
One of the first elements to respond was the 357th Engineer Company, a U.S. Army Reserve Unit based in one of the hardest hit areas, Asheville, North Carolina.
Within two hours of Yancey County’s official request for assistance, these reserve Soldiers were mobilizing, providing bulldozers to push aside fallen trees and broken asphalt and transporting quarry rocks to stabilize damaged roads and foundations.
Soldiers worked to clear roads, remove debris and restore critical infrastructure to the community in the first few critical hours of response efforts.
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The North Carolina National Guard, with the 236th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 875th Engineer Company, 883rd Engineer Company, traveled door to door to assess the needs of residents in rural areas. These Guardsmen even reconnected a property to the main roadway, hastily building a new bridge that crossed over a creek where the resident’s driveway once existed.
“For us, it’s personal,” said 1st Lt. Hunter Maynor, assigned to the 236th Brigade Engineer Battalion, in an interview with Army. mil. “These are our people, our friends and our neighbors.”
On the active-duty side, Engineer Soldiers and equipment from XVIII Airborne Corps’ Task Force Castle performed emergency route clearance activities and assisted in distributing food and water to multiple Appalachian communities throughout North Carolina. These Soldiers were also on hand for general manpower assistance.
“Task Force Castle partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to provide situational awareness from the USACE Operations Center, imagery from the Army Geospatial Center, imagery from UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) flown by the Engineer Research and Development Center, and recovery efforts through local government liaisons,” said Lt. Col. French Pope, commander, 27th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade. “This is in keeping with the 20th Engineer Brigade motto that ‘There is no better teammate than a Castle Brigade Soldier’.”
In addition to the National Guard, Reserve units, and active-duty Army Engineers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) along with its 249th Engineer Battalion, have also been actively involved in the response efforts.
Two USACE temporary power teams and Soldiers from the 249th initially deployed and were prepositioned prior to Helene’s landfall, anticipating their services would be needed in Florida. As the full scope of impacts was being realized, the teams repositioned to support North Carolina, and provided comprehensive power assessments evaluating the extent of outages to facilitate rapid recovery.
Helene’s devastation touched portions of Fort Eisenhower near Augusta, Georgia. Soldiers from the 249th deployed to the installation to begin infrastructure assessments on key facilities in preparation for supplying temporary power. Power was restored to the facility just before the generators were turned on.
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Ultimately, the team installed 23 generators to power critical need facilities affected by Helene, including a wastewater treatment facility in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
“The USACE Temporary Emergency Power community has delivered an exceptional response to our nation’s needs, demonstrating unparalleled readiness and swift execution,” said Temporary Power Program Managers Dominic Basile and Nancy Church. “Their early involvement, unwavering commitment, and effective coordination have provided vital support to the communities affected by the crisis.”
USACE’s debris mission personnel are also on the ground in multiple states and will be for an extended period.
Debris personnel are working closely with FEMA, other federal agencies, and the states to gather debris from uplands and within waterways.
“For the first time in our Debris Management Program’s history, all seven of our dedicated planning and response teams are deployed across the United States supporting disaster events. Five of those teams are focused specifically on Hurricane Helene recovery efforts,” said Kayla Stull, USACE national debris program manager. “Our teams are providing critical support by providing technical assistance, technical monitoring, and direct federal assistance debris removal across six states impacted during this event. Through this mobilization, we remain committed to working alongside our partners and supporting impacted communities during this effort.”
Because of the size and scope of Helene’s impacts, multiple task forces have been set up in North Carolina to tackle the multiple recovery efforts, each one being led by an Army Engineer Officer.
In addition to the FEMA and state-led Debris Task Force, which USACE is a part of and covers debris removal programs that include right-of-way, waterway, and private property debris removal as required, USACE personnel are a part of a Multi-Agency Debris Task Force, which is working to solve debris impacts to drinking water and pollutants in freshwater systems.
USACE is also working with other agencies on providing potable water in North Carolina. Employees from USACE’s New Orleans and Mobile Districts are conducting field investigations and providing technical assistance to local and state government agencies outside the declared counties. Task Force Potable Water is working closely with the task force that is conducting water/wastewater assessments and expediting the delivery of potable water to residents and critical facilities like schools, hospitals, public safety facilities, and elderly care locations.
One unique location the team is working on is at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, where they are supplying water to select portions of the campus, allowing students to return.
“This mission has leveraged the technical savvy and real-world experience from across the Corps. From the New Orleans District, to Mobile’s Water/Wastewater Technical Center of Expertise, and even the Engineer Research and Development Center at Vicksburg, Mississippi, this team of teams has delivered a temporary water treatment plant that will produce over 280,000 gallons of potable water per day enabling the University of North Carolina, Asheville, to return 1600 students to the dorms, reopen their commercial food service, their library, and union hall, enabling students to resume schooling in a more normal collegiate environment” said Col. Cullen Jones, Task Force Water commander. “This mission will serve as an example of the value of point treatment of water in compromised water distribution networks to help hasten a return to normalcy after future extreme events such as Hurricane Helene.”
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Though the impacts from hurricane Helene will be felt for months and years, the Engineer Regiment is on the ground in the affected areas helping to get residents back on their feet. Soldiers and civilians alike have answered the call to support their fellow Americans when they are in need.
“I am proud of the Engineer Regiment’s selfless service and dedication to help these areas recover from this disaster. Their efforts will have a lasting impact on our fellow citizens, and we will continue to stand by their side as they rebuild and recover,” Kelly said. AE
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