It’s a little ridiculous to sugarcoat 2024.

Tropical Storm Helene saw to that, leaving a trail of destruction in these mountains the likes of which no one alive had ever witnessed. The Sept. 27 storm particularly pummeled Buncombe County, where 43 people died, and it really drew a bullseye on Swannanoa, a modest community of hardworking folks about 10 miles east of Asheville.

Everyone can still see the devastation along U.S. 70, but if you swing back a block off the main road into Beacon Village, named for the former blanket factory that housed its workers here, you can tell Edwards Street took it particularly hard. About two dozen houses are gutted to the studs, and little blue tarps still dot rooftops where people had to be chopped out of their homes by rescuers.

John Zara, 41, his wife Stephanie, 39, and their two boys, 2-year-old Jack and 7-year-old Luca, lived through it, somehow. 

“Around 8 a.m., 8:30, within say 30 or 45 minutes, it went from being some water in the road and a little bit in our front yard to waist high,” Zara said, standing near his home Thursday. “So it happened really quickly.”

Zara started putting computers and other valuables up as high as possible, thinking the water certainly wouldn’t top the kids’ bunk beds.

“We ended up getting my wife, our pets and two kids up into the attic,” Zara said.

When they realized the water just kept rising and they might get trapped, they decided to make a swim/dash for it. They clambered over the washer and dryer to a small back porch with a handrail, trying to get on top of the house and out of the floodwaters.

“So I’m standing on the handrail, I got one arm on that other rail up top there, and the baby in my arm,” Zara said. “We kind of make our way around the corner to the side of the house. There’s a tree there. My wife gets in the tree, she’s on the roof, and then she’s able to help get the kids up on the roof. And I get up on the roof.”

His wife and kids were rescued by kayakers about three hours later, Zara by the National Guard in the early afternoon. Their dog and three cats also survived.

Zara said he’s still amazed at how fast the Swannanoa River, which is normally on the other side of U.S. 70 and maybe 40 feet wide, was moving that morning. 

“Those gentlemen, they saved our lives,” Zara said of the kayakers. “I mean, otherwise, you know…”

The water inside their home crested near the ceiling, so everything was ruined, although the framework of the 100-year-old structure is sound. They also lost two cars in their driveway.

After a stint in the emergency shelter at the WNC Ag Center, the family has been staying with Zara’s mom in South Carolina. 

‘We feel blessed’

Zara, who works in graphic design and marketing, says they’ve been cobbling together resources to begin the gargantuan task of rebuilding the house they’ve called home for 10 years. They paid well under $200,000 for the three-bedroom, one-bath house. Try finding property at that price in Buncombe County these days.

Residents in their 80s say that that part of Beacon Village has never flooded, so Zara feels it’s safe to rebuild. He and his wife also have a mortgage, limiting their options.

“I got a guy who’s gonna donate some countertops; I got somebody that’s donated windows and exterior doors,” Zara said. “And so it’s kind of like this logistical thing of like, ‘OK, now where can I get some drywall and try to find somebody to handle some labor?”

Someone has offered materials and labor on the roof, and they’ve gotten help from the savebeaconvillage.org folks that organized after the storm. 

Right now their biggest problem is water that keeps accumulating in the backyard and around the house after it rains. A natural spring runs in the backyard, and Zara suspects a drain pipe that used to keep it in check is clogged or broken.

The moisture is making it difficult to get the 1,200-square-foot house completely dried out inside for the rebuild. He and his family hope to get back in the house by early spring, if they can tame the moisture issue.

But Zara is not one to complain — about any of this.

“We feel blessed,” Zara said. “We’re alive. We have somewhere to stay. When you go out of here — and you’ve probably seen it before, there’s people in tents — so, you know, my story is pretty (bad), but there’s people out there that are a lot worse off.”

He says they’ve also been touched by how the community has pulled together. Immediately after the storm, a throng of church groups and Samaritan’s Purse volunteers arrived and helped gut all the homes and clear out debris.

“The very first few weeks, it was hot and heavy in here,” Zara said. “There were so many people here. You could hardly park. It was insane.”

Some good souls have also helped out with the holidays.

“We have been blessed by some churches and other folks that have taken care of Christmas for the kids this year,” Zara said. “So that’s one less thing for us to worry about, and we can keep saving money towards getting this thing put back together.”

The Zaras have a Gofundme page set up, too, and anything helps. They operate a small soap company, Bella & Oliver, and they have an offshoot company called Beacon Village Candles.

They lost a lot of supplies and inventory for the businesses, but Zara said they’ve rekindled the candle business and are donating $5 per candle sold to savebeaconvillage.org. So even when they’re in need, the Zaras are helping their community.

“We’ve been really fortunate to have a lot of family and friends and community support, and those kinds of things have all come together to create a bigger effect,” Zara said.

A gift bag and a prayer, and a feeling of humble gratitude

As if on cue, while we were standing under a carport behind Zara’s home, a church group walked up the driveway with a gift bag for his family and him. Zander Neuhaus and Josh Rose were from Real Life Church in Montrose, Michigan, and Vincent Scauzzo, from Washington, D.C., had met up with them in the morning to help deliver the packages.

Scauzzo noted that he met the church group in a morning carpool.

“This was not on my agenda,” he said with a smile. “I’ve been down here for about a week, and I just sort of opened myself up to spontaneity, I guess, in the spirit of Christmas.”

Zara, who’s spiritual but not a regular churchgoer, agreed to pray with the group. And Neuhaus brought the goods, with a solid three minute prayer that touched on the themes of resilience and community, and of course, Jesus and his message that’s so important to many of us this time of year.

As dusk settled over us and a light rain fell, it was a genuinely nice moment.

After they left, Zara talked about how the events of Sept. 27 and its aftermath have made him think more deeply about God and good fortune, about how so many people are truly kind and care about one another.

“We’re really super-appreciative of that community, family and friend system that has gotten us to this point where we can hopefully start putting the house back together and rebuilding,” Zara said.

Sure, Helene brought out the worst in some people, but overwhelmingly it’s brought out the best in all of us. It’s been humbling, too, but that’s come with valuable lessons about just how close we all are to losing everything.

“We’re definitely not people to ask for help,” Zara said. “Being that vulnerable — dropping that shield — has not been the easiest of things to do. It’s kind of refreshing. It feels good to feel that love.”

On my way home on U.S. 70, I passed by the overturned trailer that’s become something of a landmark since Helene. Lying on its side, debris still entwined in its wheels, it’s a reminder of  the destruction and hardship the storm visited on Swannanoa.

But now, people have decorated the trailer for Christmas, complete with lights, a gaudy tree, blowups and illuminated candy canes. If that’s not turning overturned trailers into Christmas cheer, I don’t know what is.

It’s resilience, with a dash of hope. Stay strong, everyone, and have a great holiday season.

Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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