Story by Kellie Finch
Photo by Caroline Routh
SWANNANOA, N.C. — Propane tanks, generators, construction equipment and cases of water scatter the property of a Harley-Davidson off Interstate Highway 40’s Exit 59 to Swannanoa. Orange traffic cones and a security guard block the business’s entrance, while other people dig holes, serve food, or stock trucks with donations, hidden away from the elements by a collection of white tents.
For over a month, 20 Patton Cove Road was not a motorcycle dealership. Instead, it was the home base for the Savage Freedoms Relief Operations, a volunteer organization created after Hurricane Helene struck Western North Carolina in late September.
It didn’t begin with the intention of being a widespread effort, however. It traced back to one person: Adam Smith.
A former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces and current inspirational speaker, Smith lost contact with his 3-and-a-half-year-old daughter and her mother—his ex-wife—following Helene. Smith was in Texas but drove his truck to North Carolina as soon as he couldn’t reach them, making countless phone calls on the road to people he knew could help.
The stretch of I-40 linking Smith and his family was flooded, so driving wasn’t an option. Through his military network, Smith found a helicopter pilot who agreed to fly him up the mountain, and they took off from the field next to the Harley-Davidson.
“He initially just needed access to his family there,” said Kevin Hill, a volunteer with Savage Freedoms and retired Air Force combat controller. “He knew this field was here, he got in touch with the Harley Davidson folks and just found himself a helicopter.”
Smith got his family off the mountain safely but realized hundreds more people were stranded and without power, water or supplies. He began rallying volunteers and gathering donations at the Harley Davidson shop, with the owner’s permission.
Thus, Savage Freedoms was born.
“It just didn’t stop from there,” Hill said. “We got more helicopter assets. We got more ground assets. We got just a massive influx of support from all over the place.”
Smith set up a GoFundMe to help pay for helicopter fuel, food and water, raising more than $650,000. At one point, Savage Freedoms had eight helicopters on the ground, being used for search-and-rescue around Swannanoa and Asheville.
“It was the first civilian-led effort to do aerial recovery and aerial resupply,” Hill said. “Adam getting his family off the mountain was the very first aerial recovery or rescue from this whole event.”
Since Helene hit, Savage Freedoms has conducted over 1,000 air missions, delivered more than 2 million pounds of supplies and allowed 40 families to return to their homes.
Hill has been volunteering with Savage Freedoms since he heard about it from several of his former military friends, hitting 41 days of the response as of Nov. 7. Despite it being over a month since Helene first hit, Hill said it doesn’t feel that way.
“Time doesn’t really exist here,” Hill said. “It’s kind of a weird little nexus of just getting things done.”
Like many other volunteers, Hill had never done disaster relief before joining Savage Freedoms. However, his military background proved useful, particularly his understanding of operating amid chaos.
“I think the military background, specifically the special operations background that a lot of these guys have—the core group has—was unique in that we kind of knew the type of people that we were dealing with,” Hill said. “Very quickly, we were able to integrate with each other and really impact whatever it is that was needed.”
Volunteers are recruited primarily through word of mouth, connections with other members or via the Savage Freedoms website and social media platforms. Some members such as Hill have been around since the beginning, while others stop in for a couple of days when they can.
“We get people that are like, ‘Oh, I was coming for a day or two or three,’ and then they stay for two weeks,” Hill said. “That’s amazing, and we need more of that continuity going forward if we can get it.”
Immediately after Helene hit, Savage Freedoms’ first goal was search and rescue. It then shifted to recovery, finding those who died in the storm. Their current focus is sustainment: rebuilding, offering temporary housing, looking at grants and staging additional donations.
“A lot of the private routes into people’s homes that had bridges, those bridges are gone,” Hill said. “So, we’re rebuilding those, putting in culverts. It’s a pretty decent mid-to-long-term solution. It’s not maybe permanent, but it’s really good compared to what they have.”
It’s a multi-year process, Hill said, but Savage Freedoms has big dreams, ones that they plan to extend past Helene and into other disasters.
Moving out of the Harley Davidson is the next step. Savage Freedoms is grateful for the kindness the people from Harley Davidson showed them, Hill said, but it’s time to let the business return to its storefront, and for Savage Freedoms to acquire a home of its own.
“We’re looking to establish a permanent location here—like a headquarters—and then continue this into the future,” Hill said. “So, we’re building out kind of our dream team, along with all the other things that we’re doing.”
The best part about volunteering with Savage Freedoms, Hill said, has been connecting with members of the community, and offering them a helping hand during a difficult time.
“Watching those relationships, I think that’s actually been my favorite piece,” Hill said. “I made a relationship with somebody that was really meaningful to me, and then we were able to help them rebuild part of their house.”
Despite all the positives he finds from volunteering with disaster relief, some days, comprehending the destruction can be difficult, Hill said. His military background assisted with building that tolerance, but he knows it won’t be enough eventually.
“Because there’s some really dramatic stuff that’s happened, it’s been tough at times for everybody, varying degrees, to just see how bad it is for some people,” Hill said. “Most of the guys around here are kind of professional trauma sponges. We can handle that, I think, to a degree. At some point, I’m going to break.”
Garrett, a Savage Freedoms volunteer and police officer based in Durham, North Carolina, who declined to provide a last name, said he struggles with his mental health as well and experiences burnout at times. He deals with it by balancing it with good experiences, and through his conversations with his fellow volunteers.
“The moments when you get to find an abandoned puppy a new home or meet a need for someone, those moments act like emotional fuel,” Garrett said. “Those are the things that keep us going through burnout.”
Garrett spent a week doing security for the site, filling in for the usual security officer who needed family time off. He also patrols other sites around Swannanoa, including a children’s home and several churches.
Garrett’s experience helping people as a police officer offers a helpful perspective into disaster relief, he said. He’s able to meet people and find ways to fix their problems—business as usual on the force—just in a new setting.
“I enjoy being the best part of someone’s worst day,” Garrett said. “Walking into a situation that they don’t understand, helping them find their way through it, and helping them find a solution.”
Garrett also has experience rebuilding after hurricanes in South Carolina and disasters in other countries, which helped prepare him for his work with Savage Freedoms. The main difference he found is the short three-hour drive from his house in Durham to Swannanoa.
“This one’s just a lot closer to home,” Garrett said.
Savage Freedoms plans to use Helene as a stepping stone for the future. What started as one person trying to rescue their family after a hurricane became so much more, Hill said—and Savage Freedoms is going to keep going.
“What’s our long-term goal?” Hill asked. “To change the face of disaster relief in the U.S., maybe the world. Lofty goal, but we’re going to start here.”
