KSP dispatchers aiding in recovery after Hurricane Helene

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – It has been almost two weeks since hurricane Helene hit, causing devastation in parts of Tennessee and North Carolina.

Those effected are still working to pick up the pieces left behind.

First responders in North Carolina are getting the extra support they need from crews here in Kentucky.

“Its very very sad,” said Dewey Burchfield, a Public Safety Telecommunications Manager for Kentucky State Police.

Burchfield and a team of five other dispatchers for KSP are now in Asheville, North Carolina, helping with communications for local first responders and coordinating emergency responses.

“We got the call Sunday night to be deployed Monday morning and we were here Monday afternoon.”

The team, along with 25 other people from other agencies, sleeping on cots and air mattresses in a high school gym.

Burchfield describes the moment they saw all of the destruction from hurricane Helene and the flooding it caused.

“We saw a lot of the farmer’s crops being destroyed by mud, and then the more east you go in the county is where it’s still remotely inaccessible because the roads and everything have been washed away. The only way to access some of those is by helicopter.”

He says it’s now Kentucky’s turn to help people in need after all the help the commonwealth received after devastating floods and tornadoes, here.

“They came to us when we had our natural disasters, the floods and the tornadoes, and it’s just a way we can give back to the people of the state. And show our appreciation for when they came and helped us.”

For those affected by Helene Burchfield says, “Just hang in there. You’ve got more people than you know or believe. We will help you if you need anything we’re just a call away. We’ll help you cross that bridge.”

He says their team is ready for anything, and if needed, they will also go to Florida to help out after Milton.