A month on, Helen Fries credits recovery as a team effort

FRIS, Va. (WDBJ) – September 27 is a tough day for those affected by Hurricane Helen.

“The river was at an all-time high of over 22 feet,” Grayson County Sheriff Richard Vaughan recalled. “The last time we saw a flood of this magnitude was back in 1940.”

Entering the city french frieshouses were almost under water and power was out for more than a week.

“It was scary because (the water) got pretty high, almost into the restaurant, and they closed it down,” said Debbie Fields, who works at the Windy River Cafe. “We had no internet, nothing, we were stuck in the dark with candles.”

It wasn’t just any Windy River Cafe. Much of the city was forced to shut down, but things are returning to normal.

“I noticed that everything, you know, is happening quite slowly. . . I see it gradually picking up as well,” Fields said.

Sheriff Vaughan said it was a team to get the city back up and running.

“These people are help,” he said, referring to the residents. “They just grab their chainsaws, tractors and start working. . . Everyone just came together and worked as a team to get the result.”

“You never realize how big a team you have until something like this happens,” Sheriff added.

“Everybody was so kind and so friendly and helped where needed,” Fields said.

Sheriff Vaughan said buildings inside the city were not flooded thanks to a wall that was built in 1940 after the last major flood.

Much of the recovery has been focused on clearing roads and clearing debris, and all the hard work is paying off.

“I think all the roads are passable for people to get to the residences, but there are still some bridges that are not working, so they have to cross creeks to get back to their homes. US Route 21 was actually reopened yesterday, so that was a big event that happened here,” Sheriff Vaughan said.

There is still work to be done. But Sheriff Vaughan and the residents are convinced that there is something Fries can do, and that is to band together to get things back to normal.