09/28/2026
September 27, 2024 is a day our community will never forget.
In the hours, days, and weeks following Hurricane Helene, Unicoi County Search & Rescue worked alongside countless responding agencies, organizations, volunteers, and individuals from both near and far. What followed were long days of searching, welfare checks, recovery efforts, clearing debris, delivering supplies, and doing whatever needed to be done to help our community.
These photos capture only a small part of those days. They show muddy boots, tired faces, difficult work, and devastation, but they also show teamwork, compassion, friendship, and a community that came together when it mattered most.
We will forever be grateful to every agency, organization, volunteer, business, and individual who came to Unicoi County and stood beside us. Some traveled hundreds of miles to help people they had never met, and many of those relationships continue today.
Most importantly, today we remember the six lives lost in Unicoi County as a result of Hurricane Helene. We remember their families, their loved ones, and everyone whose life was forever changed that day.
Two years later, our community continues to move forward, but we will never forget where we have been, the people we lost, or the people who stood beside us when we needed them most.
