Keeping propane tanks filled and winterizing campers are some of the residents’ highest priorities
SWANNANOA – A month-old kitten named “Little Bit” runs down from Vickie Revis’ trailer door when it opens and quickly squeezes between barrels of pine needles stuffed under the mobile home.
Within three minutes outside in sub-freezing weather, the little ball of fur begs to be released back to Revis’ home on wheels along the Swannanoa River.
“The cold weather hasn’t been easy,” Revis, 59, said Jan. 7.
Revis spoke to the Citizen Times in a jacket outside her new donated mobile home, which sits just feet from where her and her husband’s mobile home used to rest — before floodwaters from Tropical Storm Helene scattered pieces of their home ‘all over the place down there,’” Revis said when she pointed down at Swannanoa.
Now, as winter descends on the storm-ravaged valley, Revis said their furnace stopped working because the gas used to power it continues to freeze. The couple now uses a portable heater from Mr. Buddy to warm up his little living room. They stuffed pine needles under the RV’s floor for extra insulation.
Although the couple found enough warmth for now, Revis expressed lingering concerns about his neighbors in tiny homes and mobile homes, and whether some are still sleeping in tents and cars as the winter storm hits western North Carolina.
Housing is a priority, but winter brings challenges
Finding housing for displaced residents throughout the region has been a priority for local, state and federal agencies and nonprofits since Helene hit WNC. The effort has only gained momentum as the region heads into mid-winter.
On Jan. 2, Gov. Josh Stein signed his first executive order to bring more temporary housing — in the form of travel trailers — to WNC, while state senators have urged President Joe Biden to bring more housing to the region in a Jan. 8 letter to the president.
Between 121,000 and 132,000 homes in WNC were estimated to be damaged by the storm, according to North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management. With over 5,700 households in FEMA-funded hotels at the start of the month, most of those in hotels, about 3,500, were set to get the boot on January 12, leaving residents look for housing.
FEMA has placed 93 households in temporary housing, but roughly 12,000 WNC residents remain displaced after Helene as of early this month, according to state estimates. More and more of these residents, like Revis, are moving into mobile homes when opportunities arise.
In Old Fort, Kathy Varvel, 59, moved her belongings in and out of a new mobile home provided by Hope for Crisis, a Christian faith-based nonprofit that has brought volunteers and temporary housing to the region. She had been forced to move from her house off Ebenezer Road in Old Fort, which had been deemed uninhabitable by FEMA after Helene.
Immediately after arriving at his RV along the Catawba River, Varvel hopped out of his bright blue Volkswagen Beetle and replaced his propane tank. Her first weeks in the mobile home have been in the middle of low and sub-zero temperatures. The propane runs out quickly.
“I’ve had a hard time keeping my propane filled,” Varvel said. Her tanks last about four days before they need to be refilled, she said. On January 9, she tried to adjust her work schedule to make sure she could get both of her tanks filled with propane.
“If I work tonight, I should be able to get it filled in the morning and have enough to get me through,” Varvel said.
Along with gas heating, Varvel’s mobile home comes with electricity and receives water from a heated and insulated bright blue hose. Joe Bosse, who works to provide new campers and winterize them through Hope for Crisis, has been working on hooking up the RV to utilities. Bosse’s job also includes installing foam insulation boards on the bottom of mobile homes.
“Keeping the air from going under keeps it much warmer,” Bosse said.
Temporary accommodation, propane supply measures pick up
Winterizing the campers keeps Bosse busy. With some campers taking two days of work to fully winterize, Bosse works with another volunteer through Hope for Crisis to protect RVs and travel trailers from the elements.
In a way, Bosse is giving back to those in a similar situation to his own. Having recently lost his job because of the flooding, he had been living in a tent for a few weeks after the storm, he said. Eventually he had been donated a small building to live in from the Cajun Navy. He still uses the comfort station at Old Fort to wash clothes, he said.
In recent weeks, North Carolina’s temporary housing requirements relieved by NC Office of State Fire Marshalwhich allows property owners to waive permitting and inspection processes for temporary housing. In addition, Stein signed his sixth executive order on Jan. 7, waiving the maximum hours that drivers can transport propane in emergency areas.
For now, the mobile home, which comes with a stove, microwave, sink and a bed and seating area, is good enough for Varvel, she said. Her goal to expand the RV in some form with hopes of giving her grandchildren a place to play. One day she would like to find half an acre to put it on, she said.
“I love it. I never thought I could live in a small space,” Varvel said.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Do you have a tip? Email him at [email protected]. Please consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to Citizen Times
