Charleston County EMS were deployed to the Upstate after Helene. Here's what they saw.
- by Post and Courier
- Oct 20, 2024
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Staff report
"When I pulled off of I-26 into Spartanburg County, the gas station, grocery store, restaurant lights and power was off," Shippy said. "Places that did have backup generators had the longest lines I’ve ever seen, lines of cars, of people waiting to be serviced and get gas at the place that did have backup electrical power."
Shippy was born and raised in Spartanburg and considered it a "surreal and amazing experience" to be able to help Spartanburg County and serve his hometown. He said he was concerned at first because he had several family members who live in Spartanburg, but he learned they were OK and only dealing with power outages.
Shippy said the Upstate terrain has more pine and oak trees than the Lowcountry, and they were generally older and easily uprooted.
When he left, he noticed power was being restored, enough for some local restaurants to reopen and for traffic lights to start working again — a relief, he said, as he had to use his emergency lights to safely go through intersections when he first arrived.
Restored power also meant businesses such as Costco were up and running again, showing a sign of normalcy returning to the area.
Rebuilding and recovery for parts of the Upstate are ongoing. Some roads could take two years to repair, officials have said.
Reach Maddy Quon at mquon@postandcourier.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaddyQuon.
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