Minnesota first responders, volunteers head south to aid in Hurricane Helene cleanup

Minnesota is sending more help to North Carolina where communities are still struggling with power outages and other damage from devastating flooding a week after Hurricane Helene tore through the region.

Gov. Tim Walz authorized the Minnesota National Guard to provide aid in response to an emergency request from North Carolina officials. The guard said it’s sending two St. Cloud-based Chinook cargo helicopters which will carry personnel and supplies to flood-ravaged areas. 

Eleven soldiers will accompany the helicopters. The guard said they’re scheduled to arrive Friday and stay at least a week — or longer if needed. 

“The Minnesota National Guard is ready to assist the state of North Carolina and help support people and communities impacted by Hurricane Helene,” said Maj. Gen. Shawn Manke, the Minnesota National Guard’s adjutant general. “We take pride in being able to answer the call when another state requests support.”

A mobile command post from St. Louis County is on its way to North Carolina, too, according to the governor’s office. 

More Minnesota agencies are on standby, including the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, the state patrol and local fire departments coordinated by the state Fire Marshal. The governor’s office said those agencies are ready to activate and help once they receive assignments.

That help is being provided through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a mutual aid agreement that includes all 50 states.

Minnesota utilities are also sending personnel to areas with power outages. Xcel Energy said more than 100 of its employees from several states left for Georgia on Wednesday and are expected to stay about two weeks. The utility also released about 230 contractors to help in Georgia.

In southern Minnesota, several lineworkers from the Freeborn Mower Electric Cooperative headed south on Wednesday to assist with repairing power outages. They’re among 80 workers from 18 electric co-ops across Minnesota heading to help three hard-hit cooperatives in South Carolina.

They’re slated to be in South Carolina for one to two weeks — or possibly longer. One of the co-ops they’ll be helping reported 98 percent of its system down following the high winds and flooding from Helene.

The National Guard and utility companies join other Minnesota aid workers, including the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, who are on the ground across the Southeast, including in Florida where Helene made landfall and left widespread damage.

Dorothy Maples, the Twin Cities Salvation Army’s emergency disaster services director, spoke with MPR News on Thursday from the city of Live Oak, where she’s helping people get food and other supplies and services.

“Folks are always surprised, no matter what it is, that what service you’re providing is free to them,” she said. “I’ve had multiple people either try to tip us or give us money — and explaining to them, ‘We just want to be here to help you,’ almost brings them to tears. Because it’s one less thing that they have to worry about, and they can keep that money in their pocket to focus on something else.”

Maples said she’s seen lots of downed trees and power outages, and many people in the town where she’s stationed have lost their homes.

“You can see that people are just incredibly tired. They’re ready to try to get back to some sort of normalcy, in hopes that things will get a little bit easier as the days go on,” she said.

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