Family that lost 11 in Hurricane Helene mudslides says community sacrificed 'life and limb' to save each other

FAIRVIEW, N.C. - Members of a longstanding family in Fairview, North Carolina, are working to rebuild their lives after 13 people in their community, 11 of whom were related, died on a single morning when Hurricane Helene swept over the Appalachian Mountains.

Two weeks after three mudslides decimated homes in the small valley – dubbed "Craigtown" due to residents' ties to the Craig family that has lived in the area for 80 years – Jesse Craig and his wife, Mekenzie Craig, are picking up the pieces of Helene's devastation.

"It's literally like our world has been turned upside down," Mekenzie Craig told Fox News Digital on Sunday.

Her husband, Jesse, lost both his parents, two of his cousins, his aunt and uncle and his great aunt and uncle in a mudslide down a single path through the Craigtown valley, formally known as Garren Creek. Three additional Craig relatives and two others who were not related to the family perished in the mudslides, including a firefighter who was working to rescue others.

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"There were a lot of heroic acts over here that day from a lot of different people," Jesse said. "It just shows how tight-knit of a family we are and how tight-knit this community is and how much we love each other."

Jesse and Mekenzie survived their own harrowing night when Helene brought a tree down on their house and both their cars. Later that same day, around 5 p.m., Jesse's brother got a call through – miraculously – to let him know their family members had been swept away by the storm.

"They're gone," Jesse's brother said in his state of shock over the phone. "There is no way they survived that."

Mekenzie said there is no way they could have been prepared for what happened to their family. Part of Jesse's parents' home – the kitchen – is still fully intact. Had they been in a different room of their home, they might have survived, she said.

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At their own home in Fletcher, a town over from Fairview, Mekenzie and Jesse had been receiving flood alerts on their phone the night of Sept. 27.

"But we've had those before. It's not like we've never had flood warnings before," she said. "But we obviously did not expect it to be as awful and catastrophic as it was this time. Nobody expected this."

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There was also no evacuation notice, the couple added.

More than 250 people died across multiple states during the hurricane, including 90 people in North Carolina alone. An unknown number of people remains missing.

In the first few days after the storm, more than a million people were without power. Linemen have been working 16- and 17-hour days to restore power, especially in hard-to-reach mountainous areas where power lines and telephone poles were mangled in thick brush and mud up and down steep slopes.

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Jesse's father was an avid gardner, and the potatoes he was growing before the storm can be seen poking out of the mud scattered up and down the valley where healthy grass and trees once grew.

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Amid the destroyed homes, mangled cars and spray-painted orange "X" symbols on trees and rocks where authorities found bodies days after Helene came through, leaves are starting to turn vibrant colors. A small stream that was ripped from its banks during the storm trickles by quietly and grasshoppers chirp as if nothing happened two weeks ago.

"I was born and raised here in this little community. This is all my family. My grandfather bought this land a long time ago," Jesse said. "So I grew up here, and this was such a beautiful, wonderful little slice of mountain living, you know? It was safe. We just had a wonderful childhood. Growing up, you had a really tight-knit community."

Mekenzie and Jesse are still in shock over the loss of their family and their homes.

"We see it, but your mind just can't make sense of it. You don't think it's real. You can't comprehend the gravity of what happened," Jesse said.

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They have been trying to keep busy. In the two weeks since Sept. 27, Jesse and Mekenzie have gotten up every morning, brushed their teeth with water bottles when they were out of water, drove over to Craigtown, which used to be 20 minutes from their home but is now an hour-long drive, and sorted through debris, looking for their loved ones' belongings that survived the storm.

Jesse noted that his parents' 8-year-old golden retriever, Cooper, survived the storm. They found him at home, still in his crate, because he did not want to leave after the storm destroyed nearly everything.

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But in the face of shock and overwhelming tragedy, Jesse and Mekenzie expressed deep gratitude to those who stepped up to help them, including their local community and people around the country who have offered assistance.

"Locals and first responders and different fire departments from all over the South, from all over the Eastern Seaboard, came down to help us," Jesse said. "And we spent a lot of time with them and got to know a lot of them personally because we were right here together in it, and they're just incredible people."

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Mekenzie described a local Baptist church as a "Dollar General" because it was so full of supplies. They were handed a bucket when they walked inside the church to collect whatever food or other necessities they needed.

A GoFundMe titled "Support the Craig Family After Tragic Loss" aims to assist the Craig family with funeral expenses for 11 people, rebuilding costs and medical expenses.

"That's all we really need is financial help. We have been overwhelmed with so many people from all over the country with supplies. It is amazing," Mekenzie said. "[A]lmost every church in this area, you can go in, and there are literally grocery stores in these churches."

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The couple encourages anyone who needs help to seek a local entity that has food, supplies and other necessary resources.

"Find a local entity and go," Jesse said. "They will give you whatever you need. Most of them have plenty. Don't hesitate to go and get help if you need it."

Help people affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Your donation enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from these disasters. Go to redcross.org/foxforward.

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