RADFORD, Va. (WDBJ) – The damage caused by Hurricane Helene left many people who lived at the Sportsman RV Campground in Radford displaced, but that’s not stopping them from helping to rebuild their tight-knit community and store.
The day Helene hit Southwest Virginia nearly three weeks ago, it only took a couple hours for the Sportsman, a local and well-know convenience store, to fill up with water.
“It’s awful. I hate it that somebody’s… they put a lot of time and money into it and it’s all gone. I mean, there’s nothing left. It’s really hard, nothing left to keep. They had to throw everything away,” said Amanda Gravely, a campground resident.
Some people who lived at the campground had time to pull their campers out before the water got too close. Others had their property destroyed or washed away.
Brandy Spurlock’s home was right behind the Sportsman store, closest to the New River. She says she woke up that morning with her bed floating.
“I went to sleep, I woke up and it was literally floating. I walked out into knee-deep and the water was warm. It was so crazy,” said Spurlock.
The devastation Helene left at the campground is overwhelming, but residents and volunteers are committed to helping in the recovery.
They have been cleaning up the grounds at the Sportsman for the past few weeks.
“It was a good foot worth of mud and sludge in here when we first come in. We started trying to get that out, getting all the soda. All the coolers were upside down in every way so they had to get them up, empty them out,” said Gravely.
There is still plenty of work to do to get the store back in business and people who want to stop by and give them a helping hand are welcome.
The volunteers also said it will be until at least the end of the year before people can stop by the Sportsman for some gas, a biscuit or some fishing bait again.
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