(NewsNation) — As the relief effort continues to provide assistance and supplies to North Carolina residents affected by Helene, one of the state’s native sons and most recognizable NASCAR drivers is trading in his race car for a helicopter to lend a helping hand.
Greg Biffle, a 19-time winner on NASCAR’s Cup Series and the first driver to win championships on the Xfinity Series and Truck Series, is using his private helicopter to help deliver supplies to residents who are stranded due to flooding in the region.
“I’ve seen some really tough stuff,” Biffle told NewsNation. “Roads and bridges — gone and washed out. Not just one road or one area. I mean, it’s hundreds of miles.”
Biffle equates the storm damage to Hurricane Katrina but said the difference between the two storms is that Helene is impacting more remote areas. Katrina flooded out much of the major Louisiana city of New Orleans.
“You can’t get eyes on it and so you can’t see how bad it is,” Biffle said.
Another local volunteer, Christina Grossu, told NewsNation that the most difficult aspect of the relief effort in places like North Carolina is knowing everyone can’t be helped. Officials said Tuesday that at least 160 people have died due to the storm and that at least 600 people remain missing as the effort across six states continues in the aftermath of the storm.
With plenty of supplies to deliver and scores of local residents stranded, making sure not to overload small aircraft like helicopters and private planes remains critical, volunteers told NewsNation.
In addition to baby supplies and other items that pilots are delivering, the stories coming back to volunteers trying to organize deliveries are becoming difficult to hear. In addition to the necessities being delivered, volunteers said they are starting to receive their first requests for body bags as the search for the missing continues less than a week since the storm made landfall in Florida.
As more pilots join the mission, an operation that is now known as Hurricane Helene Airlift Relief, which began on Facebook, continues to grow.
In addition to pilots like Biffle, others from neighboring states including South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia are beginning to travel to North Carolina to assist in the effort.
In addition to flying in supplies, Biffle told NewsNation he has been able to obtain hundreds of Starlink satellite internet devices to help storm victims who may not have reliable cellphone service reach their family members.
“This isn’t a red or blue thing — this is a North Carolina thing,” one volunteer told NewsNation. “You’re hurting, I’m going to stop and help you get out of the road. We’re all going to be good Samaritans now.”