Were 200 or as many as 2,000 people found stranded after Hurricane Helene in a church in Candler, North Carolina, after six days without food? No, that's not true: The communications and public engagement director for that county told Lead Stories, "This is unequivocally untrue." Churches in the area are acting as distribution points for emergency supplies.
The meme that began circulating on social media October 3, 2024, was posted on TikTok (archived here) with a music track and no caption. Text in the image reads:
5:40 p.m. They just radio'd and said they found 2000 more people who are stranded at a church in Candler NC, who haven't eaten in 6 days. 😞 We literally ran back and forth and filled the chopper as fast as we could! Lord, please don't let the sun go down on Will Adkins before he delivers this load of groceries! 🙏 Keep the donations coming if you are able! This is far from over, friends. #hurricanehelene
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Oct 07 17:50:21 2024 UTC)
Additional text captioning on the image reads:
God is in this story! No man could ever outdo what our God can do!!
Lead Stories reached out to the public relations desk with the Buncombe County Government to ask them about the meme. Candler is an unincorporated community less than 10 miles from the Buncombe County seat, Asheville. We inquired not just about the claim of people stranded, but also asked about a revision days later that changed the number of people from the original 2,000 down to 200. Lillian M. Govus, director of communications and public engagement at Buncombe County Government, responded on October 7, 2024:
This is unequivocally untrue.
Tracking down the viral rumor
This meme image is a screenshot of a Facebook post that was not set to be seen publicly. The account that made the post is currently not publicly searchable. The blue text in the post appears to be tagging another account, Will Adkins, a private helicopter pilot who has been posting daily updates about the work he has been doing in North Carolina. In an October 3, 2024, post on Facebook (archived here) Adkins wrote about the day before, he said in part:
Day 5 takeaways:
My last flight yesterday was into a ball field in Candler NC. I was met by several police cars that helped me unload. It was dark when I landed and I could not see much of the terrain. I called my wife, Lavi, to tell her where I was heading before I left Johnson County TN and the conditions of the people in the area around the landing zone. She posted what I said to her and some local people commented that it was not true and that we were scamming people. I can assure you...these people were very happy to see the aid arrive and I was the first one they had seen since the hurricane. The people with the most negative comments were local to Candler. There are pockets of people that have no relief, internet, access to information, etc. It could be the person next door or just a mile away. I know everyone wants to help...if you can't get to the places that are cut off, encourage people to go check on their neighbors. We are NOT posting fake news.
The October 2, 2024, Facebook post (archived here) from his wife, Lavinia Vranceanu Adkins, painted a much more dire picture:
UPDATE: Will landed at home just before 9pm and he said when he arrived in Candler, several police cars surrounded him on the ballfield across from the church.
He said they told him that there were very hungry people that could've jumped him for supplies, because they are that desperate.
I know of two flights that are heading there with supplies, so I will post more updates as I hear more.
Original post:
Will just got an emergency call to get any type of food and water to Candler, NC.
There are hundreds of people who haven't had anything to eat in since Saturday.
Anyone else able to fly any supplies there, please let me know. I understand that we are running out of daylight 😣 so either tonight or early tomorrow would be great.
There are several churches in Candler, North Carolina, that are coordinating emergency relief and donation drop-offs. An example (pictured below) shows a photo of a hand-written sign that was posted on October 7, 2024, in the facebook group, "Enka/Candler - My Town (And Neighbors)."
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Mon Oct 07 21:45:06 2024 UTC)
Although it has remained accessible by road, Pole Creek Baptist Church in Candler is adjacent to a ballfield where it is also possible to land helicopters. They have been posting regular updates on their Facebook page. A September 29, 2024, comment from a member of the congregation under a previously scheduled post that had been automatically posted from the church account described the situation after Hurricane Helene came through:
... the entire church staff, much like the whole area, is completely cut off and off-line. I am here in town and have backup connection options to hop on here to comment. I have driven through the church campus this afternoon and can tell you it is all safe, secure and in one piece. The immediate area around it is also in good shape, though offline and cut off. Blessed compared to our greater region for sure.
On October 2, 2024, the church's post (archived here) announced the distribution hub being run from the church grounds by Preparedness Consulting Services:
Our church is the site Preparedness Consulting Services operating the Supply Distribution Hub at Pole Creek. is a distribution site as long as supplies last. Assortment of items available. WiFi available until 5 pm TODAY!
The following day the update (archived here), which featured photos of the parking lot staging area (pictured below) and a video of a military helicopter in the comments section, said:
Preparedness Consulting Services operating the Supply Distribution Hub at Pole Creek.God is blessing our community. Thank you to all those who are volunteering and bringing donations from everywhere.Please come out tomorrow between 10 and 5 to get your supplies. We have food, propane, diapers, some baby formula, baby wipes, and tomorrow there will be food truck. See you here!
(Source: Lead Stories composite image with Facebook screenshots taken on Mon Oct 07 22:48:01 2024 UTC)
Lead Stories reached out to the pilot Will Adkins and will update this article if we receive a reply.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks on claims associated with Hurricane Helene can be found here.
