George Real Estate Group Radio Broadcast

A year after the flood, volunteer firefighters share how a cut-off mountain community survived, regrouped, and keeps rebuilding together

• George Real Estate Group

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When the bridge disappears and the radios go quiet, what holds a mountain community together? We sit down with Ashley and Isaac Guffey from Bat Cave to trace the first frantic days after the flood—mudslides, dead-end roads, and a valley suddenly cut off from help—and the long, patient year that followed. Their story moves from improvisation to infrastructure: volunteer firefighters carving a passable route over Little Pisgah, side-by-sides hauling supplies when trucks couldn’t, and a medical evacuation for a neighbor running out of insulin. Along the way, they reveal the hardest part—two days with no word about their child, and a week until they were reunited—plus the simple tools that became lifelines: generators on radio repeaters, steady hands, and neighbors who refused to stand down.

We also share how recovery really works after the cameras leave. Nonprofits like Pay It Forward Network, Bat Cave Disaster Relief, Helene Rising, and Spokes of Hope are still stepping in with casework, materials, and muscle. A veteran who lost everything just received a tiny home and a repaired driveway, a crucial foothold toward a full rebuild. Amish crews have quietly replaced roofs, rebuilt decks, and even set small bridges so people can get home. It’s practical compassion at scale—fast shelter near familiar land, with dignity and a plan for what’s next. And while we check the pulse of the local market—steady sales, longer days on market, average prices in the low 500s—the bigger theme is clear: real estate is about people, timing, and trust, especially when life turns.

If you care about Western North Carolina, community resilience, volunteer firefighting, disaster recovery, and the power of tiny homes, this conversation will stay with you. Listen to learn what’s needed now, how to support the Bat Cave and Gerton area, and why “don’t forget about us” is the most important line we heard. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who loves the mountains, and leave a review to help more neighbors find this story. Your attention and action make a real difference.

SPEAKER_01:

The George Real Estate Group Radio broadcast is celebrating 10 years on WHKP. The George Real Estate Group is celebrating 10 years on the radio live every Thursday morning at 10.05 on WHKP 107.7 FM and AM 1450, and streaming online at WHKP.com. Each Friday morning at 845, the George Real Estate Group presents the Hometown Hero Award to someone in our community who goes above and beyond to make our hometown a better place to live. Here's this week's Hometown Hero Show. It's 845 on Friday morning, and that means it's time for our George Real Estate Group Hometown Heroes salute, and we sure look forward to this every Friday morning. And Noah George is here with us from the George Real Estate Group. Noah brings us this uh very important program every week. We get so many comments about uh the people that we have here, Noah, and have had over the years.

SPEAKER_00:

It it's absolutely a privilege and an honor to sponsor the Hometown Heroes series. We don't take it lightly, and it's amazing, as you said, to hear these stories that we share every single Friday morning around the mic and uh amazing people doing amazing things uh from all walks of life, from all stories, all situations, and and it's it's also reflective of the people that live here. I mean, this is you know, we're working in the community every single day, and people that are have lived here for generations, and then there's people that have relocated here. I mean, all all walks of life, all stories, and and that's what I love real estate because we meet amazing people and we get to hear their stories and and you know, buying and selling houses or or their investment properties, it's just part of the conversation of life, but uh it's a privilege to help our clients through the real estate process.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, uh as we said many times, you you are on the front line of uh seeing people move to Henderson County and and by the way, North Carolina and and Henderson County, one of the top states and regions in the nation that people are moving to.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely, the migration is incredible. Yeah, and you see uh the quality of people that want to call this place home. They do, and it like-minded people find like-minded people and and quality people find quality people, and and and we're certainly gonna hear more about the just the incredible people that have been serving and giving back uh in our show this morning. Um, but you know, people want to live here. They want their quality of life, they want to enjoy the four distinct seasons, they want to enjoy the uh other amazing people here in the all the outdoors and in all that our area has to offer. So, I mean, we're having conversations every single day with people that are they're buying and selling and investing in real estate.

SPEAKER_01:

And uh there's really no downturn in the real estate market. It's uh uh uh the same as it has been, right?

SPEAKER_00:

The one change uh that that that is of note is things are taking a little bit longer. Average days on the market's closer to 60 days, but the average price is still uh in the high uh low five is 534. Uh we're still averaging some 125, 126 single family homes a month selling, even in this high interest rate environment. So it the market's the market, the economy's the economy, but life happens, therefore real estate happens, and it's uh and it's a a privilege truly to help our clients with real estate.

SPEAKER_01:

I call you guys a a shepherd. You shepherd folks through uh a real estate transaction, and you're located in Flat Rock, North Carolina.

SPEAKER_00:

We are dangerous location there next to the bakery, uh the Flat Rock Bakery, Hubba Hubba Barbecue, Campfire Grill, all those great locations. Yes, but we serve all of Western North Carolina and the upstate. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com. You can also call us directly at 828-393-0134. And we also podcast all of our radio shows, including this one.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. Uh be sure to check all of that out. And and uh and let me compliment you on doing your job very well, one-handed.

SPEAKER_00:

We're six weeks since I've had rotator cuff surgery, but I can still I I'm finally I'm hoping today the doctor gives me the the the clear to drive, but I've I've had to I'm not not afraid to ask for help, and I'm very grateful I've had a lot of help.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh all righty. Join me in welcoming uh Ashley and Isaac Guffey to the microphones. They are members of the Bat Cave community, and we've been focusing a lot on Bat Cave, North Carolina and uh the Girton area and all of the damages that they uh they suffered the most damages of uh all of us in Henderson County. And and uh Ashley and Isaac, uh, you guys have been working around the clock since this happened to to help out your neighbors and and get recovered. So tell us about what it's been like for the past year as we look back on the last uh year. Crazy. Crazy. Just crazy, huh?

SPEAKER_04:

Just crazy. Our lives turned completely upside down.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, bless your heart. Uh it really did, I know. Uh how was your home and property impacted?

SPEAKER_04:

Um, we had some damage.

SPEAKER_02:

We had we we had uh we we live above the river. Yeah. Because we live on top of Middle Fork. And um, so we had a d we have a shared driveway and it basically turned into a river. So we had some water damage where it flooded around our house from the driveway where it gave way.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. But a lot of people completely lost their house.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, we're we're very lucky compared to a lot of them.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, what kinds of things have you guys been doing to help out your neighbors there in the Middle Fork community?

SPEAKER_04:

Everything.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

So on on top of the bridge, I have it's me and see, we got we got two other firefighters, but they're below the bridge or didn't have access either. But um so I had we had to take care of a hundred and forty-ish people above the bridge because from the bridge down was gone. The the the completely inaccessible right, yeah, yeah, just gone. They they literally had to cut in a road. So Gurton firefighters cut in up a little Pisgah to connect a road. We had a road that dead-ended up on through the mountain, and then they had to connect it so we could get side by sides in to get supplies.

SPEAKER_03:

Because they would not airdrop.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, we couldn't get any airdrops.

SPEAKER_03:

There wasn't room.

SPEAKER_01:

They just couldn't get helicopters in it.

SPEAKER_02:

No, the the National Guard could get there with the Chinooks, but they would not do uh sling drops for some reason. They had to actually land, and we didn't have a big enough space for a Chinook.

SPEAKER_00:

When did you realize? I mean, and you had this initial shock. I mean, you're assessing things, and then and you do you serve full-time in the fire department or volunteer? Yes, volunteer, yeah. Right, which is thank you for that's incredible in and of itself. But but you realized there was a number of you firefighters together uh at that moment, but you you when you realized this is the situation, you guys started assessing and then making a plan. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

We honestly were trying to get down to our child. He was with my parents and we had no clue.

SPEAKER_02:

No, nothing. They lived home. They had no communication. There was no communication, we couldn't get there. Um I tried hiking through the woods and couldn't do it.

SPEAKER_04:

Couldn't do it.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, mud everywhere. Mudslide. I had to go, I was trying to uh get to a lady about she had uh shortages of insulin, and we ended up having to get a hard team to come in and helicopter her out. But I was trying to get to her too to check on her, and um so we went hiking through the woods. I she stopped at the first mudslide. There's big mudslides. Couldn't cross it. I did.

SPEAKER_04:

He did.

SPEAKER_02:

I would not I I I went across three, but it then just kept coming and coming and it just was getting a little too dangerous. Wow. But I I still couldn't get to her. But that I realized that where I was able to make it wasn't even halfway down. Like I probably only went a couple of mile, it felt like forever, but it felt it was only a couple of miles from where I started.

SPEAKER_01:

So that's amazing, and the destruction, it's just uh it's it's hard to befathom. It's hard to imagine.

SPEAKER_02:

That first mudslide was huge. It's uh it goes from actually the top of the mountain down to the room. Into the river down towards the bottom. It was massive.

SPEAKER_01:

We heard helicopters. Uh you know, I live near the Asheville airport and and uh the sky was just full of helicopters. Uh I I was there was no power and there was no phones and you couldn't talk and you couldn't but all you could do is hear these helicopters and chainsaws and leaf blowers and ATVs and uh so gosh uh you you eventually of course were reunited with your child.

SPEAKER_04:

One week.

SPEAKER_01:

A week later. Yeah. Yeah. Did you not uh how how soon how did how long was it before you knew your child was okay?

SPEAKER_04:

Two days.

SPEAKER_01:

Two days.

SPEAKER_04:

And it was only because of the fire radio.

SPEAKER_02:

So the the repeaters for the fire department went down. But they were able to get generators to them so we could kind of use them. We had certain channels we could use, uh kind of like uh extended walkie-talkie. Yeah. And we were able to get confirmation that they were okay.

SPEAKER_01:

The uh the fire department. Let's Bat Cave? Yes. Yeah, and Steve Freeman uh has been here with us on the show, and and Steve told some stories just like you guys are telling, some uh harrowing stories about and and and some of the things that stand out in my memory, Noah, was was Steve talking about uh going door to door prior to. Were you a part of that and warning people that this is coming?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, up top. Of course, we didn't we I mean, really the whole area didn't have much of a warning. A notice, not at all. It was only like a what a day prior when they started talking about the 1916 flood? Uh huh. So day prior. Yeah, so it really wasn't nobody was really prepared for a month worth of being stuck. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, so much the process, and again, I can I we still hear the emotion in your voices. Uh it's uh it's uh unfathomable what our community went through, what you guys personally went through. Where are things now? And I think it's hard for people to realize the the the recovery's absolutely it's still ground zero. Yeah. Like and there's still so much going on. What do people still need? And how how do you see the community stepping up?

SPEAKER_02:

And well, there's still a lot of nonprofits around, and we're actually a part of um one uh pay forward network. And um so we've been helping uh a few people right now, but uh we've been helping a veteran right now get um he he lost everything. But we we just finished up fixing the driveway to his house, and then um he just got delivered a tiny home, what, yesterday? The day before yesterday. The day before, so he could live there, and then we're planning on rebuilding um him a home.

SPEAKER_00:

But just yesterday, I mean, over a year later, he's now got uh a temporary home, a tiny home, to stay on his property. Yeah, yeah.

unknown:

Yep.

SPEAKER_00:

And that's through the nonprofit Pay It Forward.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it's it's a few of us.

SPEAKER_01:

Um Batcave Disaster Relief, us, um Helene Rising, Haleen Rising, Spokes of Hope, and uh yeah. Uh I'm glad you mentioned tiny homes. Uh next week, our guest is uh Michael Brown, uh, who uh provided uh his Apple packing house for the Amish to come and live and build tiny homes. And I I I he told me some kind of a phenomenal number of like those tiny homes that were built by the Amish, something over a hundred home, a hundred, maybe two hundred of those tiny homes that were built. And so I I suppose you see those there in in the Batcave community. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

There's a lot everywhere.

SPEAKER_01:

I know Spokes for Hope.

SPEAKER_02:

I haven't really done much with them personally. Um there's another one too that we work with. I've worked with personally a lot when they came in, but it was uh just for him ministries. Um it's another Amish group too. Yeah, they they kind of work together now.

SPEAKER_04:

Uh they came in and replaced a ton of roofs. Yeah, we had a ton of roofs, decks and anything. They put in a tiny little bridge over to a house so they could get home.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. We have uh we have a lady that needed a new roof, they replaced windows and they were pretty much redid her whole back um section of her house section of her house from where it was leaking and molding and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_00:

Talk about the fire department. Talk about your all the everyone there. I mean, and how long have you been part of that group? Oh goodness what?

SPEAKER_04:

Eleven years.

SPEAKER_02:

That's been more than that.

SPEAKER_04:

Twelve years.

SPEAKER_02:

Somewhere there in between twelve and fifteen.

SPEAKER_00:

Was somebody else in your family a firefighter? I'm just curious how you got influence to to volunteer to be part of it.

SPEAKER_02:

I was in the military. We got we got married, and when we came back, her dad was assistant chief at the time. And so I just kind of went in.

SPEAKER_00:

Amazing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, we thank you guys so much for uh what you continue to do, what you've done, and what you continue to do there in the Batcave and especially in the uh Middle Fork community. Uh we're gonna keep up with what's going on there. We're gonna stay with you guys and try to help with uh publicity. It's hard as we sit here on Four Seasons Boulevard and see life in its normal activities uh going on day to day to know that just down the road, just down the road is ground zero and it's still tough. And so uh we're gonna stick around here and try to every Friday morning let people know about the things that are going on through the George Real Estate Group Hometown Hero series.

SPEAKER_00:

And I know we just have literally just maybe 30 seconds or so, but is there anything else you want to make sure the community knows and and and sharing your story? And again, again, thank you for all you've done.

SPEAKER_04:

I guess just keep pushing. We'll get back to normal.

SPEAKER_00:

Keep showing up. Absolutely. Don't forget about us.

SPEAKER_02:

I appreciate you saying about ground zero and stuff, because that's why uh backhaving garden really doesn't get covered much. Yeah. We're we're here. We want to kind of there in the shadow, you know? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, thank you all very much. Uh Noah's got a certificate and some uh goodies for you over there. Thank you both so much for what you do. Join us next week. We have another chapter of the uh George Real Estate Group Hometown Hero series here on WHKP.

SPEAKER_00:

Maybe the house feels a little too big these days. The stairs a little steeper, the pace of life a little too fast. But what if your next move wasn't about letting go? It was about making space for peace, for freedom, for what matters most. At the George Real Estate Group, we understand that real estate isn't just about the house. It's about transitions, timing, and trust. We've helped thousands of families in Western North Carolina make smart, thoughtful moves. Closer to nature, closer to family, closer to home. So when you're ready to write-size, simplify, or start fresh, we'll be here. The George Real Estate Group. Local, trusted, proven. Call us today, 828-393-0134. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com because your next chapter deserves to feel just right.

SPEAKER_01:

The George Real Estate Group is located in Flat Rock, North Carolina, near Hendersonville in Henderson County. You can find them online at realestatebygreg.com. The George Real Estate Group can be reached at 828-3930134 or stop by their office at 2720 Greenville Highway, Flat Rock, North Carolina. Tune in live each week on Thursdays at 1005 AM on WHKP 107.7 FM and 1450 AM, or stream online at WHKP.com, or download these podcasts wherever you get your podcasts. The George Real Estate Group brings you the WHKP Hometown Hero Series every Friday morning at 8 45.