Helene made landfall as a deadly category 4 hurricane late on the evening of September 26, 2024, along the Florida Gulf Coast. One day later, as it weakened to a tropical storm, Helene unleashed damaging winds, unprecedented rainfall and torrential flooding across the southeast U.S., with Georgia and the western Carolinas particularly hard hit.

In some cases, entire inland communities have been wiped out in scenes described as “apocalyptic.” The degree of destruction is staggering, and the death toll continues to rise, with rescue operations in full swing and hundreds of people still believed missing at this writing.

According to multiple posts on social media, groups such as the Mountain Mule Packer Ranch in Mount Ulla, North Carolina, and the Sandhills Pony Club of Pinebluff, North Carolina, have mobilized to help victims of Helene in that state’s western mountains, many of whom have been stranded for days without food, water, cell power, electricity and passable roads.

Packing it in

In the case of the Mountain Mule Packer Ranch, a business that offers training in tactical mule packing, the objective is getting much-needed supplies in by pack mule strings to especially hard-to-reach mountain locations. The mules and supplies are being hauled to local staging areas from which they are being deployed. According to reports, each of the mules can carry 200 pounds of supplies, everything from food and water to diapers and medical needs like insulin.

In a recent Facebook post, the Mountain Mule Packer Ranch asked that anyone who wants to donate to their mission or who knows of “specific needs and areas” where their mule strings can help to reach out to them at (910) 885-1402. “We can bring supplies or pack in what your group has acquired already,” the post reads.

There have also been reports of vital supplies being carried into the mountains by horseback.

Airlifting hay

Meanwhile, members of the Sandhills Pony Club are reportedly using airlifts to transport donated hay and animal supplies into the zones where horses and other livestock have not been evacuated.

According to an October 1 Facebook post, the club has supplied 850 bales of hay to these areas to date and is “armed with two more truckloads on a moment’s notice.”

A post on the club’s Facebook page directs those wishing to help to send donations by Venmo (@Sandhills_PonyClub) or mail a check to Sandhills Pony Club, 255 Cliffman Rd., Pinebluff, NC 28373.

Landing page image from Mountain Mule Packer Ranch social media