COLUMBIA, S.C. —
It's been a tragic day for people living in Saluda County as community members woke up to the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene, many of whom have been dealing with fallen trees in their yards and on top of their homes, power out for hours on end, and loose power lines in the middle of the road.
The coroner announced the death of two first responders Friday night. They are George Satcher, 53, and Landon Bodie, who was just 18 years old. Authorities said these firefighters were killed around 6:30 this morning after a tree fell on their fire truck while responding to a call for service.
“That's a reminder that these first responders put their life on the line every day to go out and protect the citizens that they serve,” said David Jones with SC Highway Patrol.
Neighbors in the community also served one another by helping to clean up after Hurricane Helene's damaging winds rattled their community. Creighton Price was one of those neighbors.
“As widespread as the damage was, if everybody can pitch in, it'll get everything going back a lot quicker,” Price said.
Price, his parents, and his grandmother live a block away from one another. They all saw damage to their property from Helene, totaling around 20 fallen trees.
“I kind of woke up when the wind was blowing there around 5 o'clock or so and then I heard a few things crashing, stuff blowing around on the porch,” Price said.
Price walked outside his house and couldn't believe what he saw. “You see that tree just come down, just barely miss that building and that truck there,” Price said.
Trooper Jones saw damage to his own property as well. "Even this morning when I left, it was just impossible to leave. Everywhere we went was downed trees. It's something as a trooper of 20 years, I've never seen,” Jones said.
Cleanup is on the agenda for Saluda County and first responders said it could take several days.