Many residents in Boone are still without power and having to boil water, but as the scale of of Helene’s destruction sinks in, some say they’re feeling fortunate.
Benjamin Fries is a professor of German at Appalachian State University. His neighborhood’s entry was blocked by trees, he still doesn’t have power after five days, and the university is closed through at least Friday, but he said it could have been much, much worse in Boone.
“We’re still without power, but to be honest, if I look at the news, if I read stories about Asheville and other villages, cities and counties, I think we were kind of, in quotes, lucky,” he said.
Central Boone had power and people were lining up to buy whatever nonperishable food they could at a local grocery store. The storm meant no delivery trucks had gotten through for days, however.