SALUDA, S.C. (WIS/Gray News) – As the residents of South Carolina continue to clean up the mess Hurricane Helene left behind, communities are mourning as more than 40 lives were lost in the state as a result of the storm.
Two of those lives were first responders in Saluda County, identified as Circle Volunteer Fire Department Chief Chad Satcher and firefighter Landon Cale Bodie.
There aren’t many places across the state you can go without seeing trees down on homes or cut away and sitting on roadsides.
But in the aftermath of Helene, the family tree of the Saluda County community will never be the same after losing two important limbs trying to provide help in the storm.
“He left out of here that morning,” Wayne Bodie, Landon Cale Bodie’s grandfather, said. “I tried to talk him out of going because the winds were so high. I said, ‘Cale, I wish you wouldn’t go this morning.’ Last words he said to me were, ‘Papa, I got to go.’”
The Bodie family is still processing what happened.
“I’ve had my moments, but to be honest with you, it feels very unreal,” said Sylvia Court, Landon Cole Bodie’s mother. “And it still really hasn’t hit me yet, I’m sure.”
The family now has a new reality within a community littered with fallen trees.
“Unfortunately, we know we’ve four storm-related deaths so far, two of which were firefighters in Saluda County,” said Gov. Henry McMaster in the wake of the storm.
Satcher and Landon Cale Bodie were out in a truck responding to a call for service when a tree fell on them.
Landon Cale Bodie’s grandfather said his worry wouldn’t let him rest.
“So, I worked my way through some of those trees over there. I had to walk,” Wayne Bodie said. “I got within about a mile-and-a-half of them. I went on foot and found that truck, the firetruck. When I got over there, I seen what had happened. They couldn’t say nothing until they did the investigation.”
The chief and the up-and-comer are honored by the department, along with the heroic memory of their commitment to service.
“He was absolutely 100% dedicated,” said Crout. “He loved it. He was proud to be with it, and the one that was with him, which was his chief, he was the most proud to be on a call with that guy.”
“See, the chief didn’t stay too far from here,” said Wayne Bodie. “My grandson Landon, he stayed right here, so he’s right here close to the Circle. So, they were always the first ones to get to the station. He loved it. He had his heart set on it.”
Bodie’s family said he had been at the Circle Fire Department for about three months before Hurricane Helene hit.
“We ask you keep all of those families and friends in your prayers,” McMaster added.
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