ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The impact of Hurricane Helene continues to unfold across the Southeast, as communities assess the destruction left in its wake. Among the hardest-hit areas is Asheville, where Brother Wolf Animal Rescue suffered severe damage.
Leah Craig Chumbley, the executive director of Brother Wolf, described the scene as chaotic and disorienting. “Walking down the streets is surreal; it’s hard to recognize roads I’ve traveled for over a decade,” she shared.
The storm’s ferocity was evident when a massive semi-truck was violently pushed against a bridge, crumpling it as if it were made of paper. Chumbley recounted, “The force of the water leveled everything in its path.”
When she managed to navigate through knee-deep mud to reach the shelter, the devastation was overwhelming. She encountered an overturned train car, heaps of debris, and rooms that looked as if they had been tossed around in a blender.
Despite the destruction, Chumbley expressed gratitude that all the animals were evacuated in time. “If we hadn’t acted quickly, we would have lost all our animals; the shelter was completely underwater. Every resource we had used to save over 100,000 animals is gone,” she lamented.
To support Brother Wolf during this crisis, Chumbley urges people to contribute financially. Donations can be made through their website. Additionally, adopting or fostering pets from local shelters can help create space for animals displaced by the storm. More information on these initiatives is available on the Pets On Set page.
