Amy Bertelli, Co-Founder & Cory Wall, Organizer Fairview Strong
FairviewStrong.org emerged in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which devastated Western North Carolina on September 27, 2024. Our small mountain town of Fairview, nestled just south of Asheville, faced destruction unlike anything seen since the great flood of 1916. Bridges and roads were washed away, cutting us off from the rest of the country. While Asheville suffered historic flooding, Fairview was ravaged by landslides—trees uprooted and carried down mountains, some still upright, streams turned into raging rivers, and the land left scarred with debris and destruction.
With a population of about 3,000, Fairview operates without a formal town hall or police department. Our local sheriff serves as law enforcement, and three fire stations provide emergency response. But in the wake of Helene, the fire response teams became inundated as expected—so we became our own help.
