Chance CravenDocumentary Photographer
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Field Notes · Stories

Asheville, NC · October 2024

Hurricane Helene, part 1: Asheville.

I was invited in because the relationship was already there before the storm.

Invited in

The relationship was there before the storm.

I've traveled as far away as Japan for disaster relief, and I had never seen this many trees blocking roadways.

  • Invited in by Asheville Fire because we already knew each other
  • 6.5 miles in one day along the Swannanoa River, search and recovery
  • 71.6 miles from my front door to the fire department
  • 3,000 gallons of water brought in. The firefighters had none.
Firefighter's face reflected in the side mirror of a rig rolling into Asheville
The Swannanoa River seen from a moving vehicle, banks stripped and littered with debris
A shipping container tipped onto a mud-covered road by the floodwaters
Three Asheville firefighters walk a mud road toward the search area
Firefighters pick their way into a tangle of flood debris along the river
Firefighter walks past a crushed metal building on a debris-strewn lot
Search and recovery

The work

Searcher in a helmet crosses mud flats scattered with wreckage
Searcher in a helmet framed by broken branches in the debris pile
Searcher works through tangled branches at the river's edge
Crew member in chaps runs a chainsaw through a downed tree
Asheville FD members in helmets confer in the debris field
Searcher with a tool smiles from the riverbank brush
Asheville Fire

The people

Young firefighter in a white helmet stands among broken branches
Searcher in a vest and helmet holds a probe pole in the debris
Excavator and crews clear a mountain of flood wreckage
Veteran firefighter with arms crossed and a teammate holding an axe
Search team member in a ball cap looks into the camera

Build the relationship before you need it.

If you lead a department, let's meet now, not after.

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Next noteHurricane Helene, part 2: Pensacola. →