ASHEVILLE – As gas stations close and stores begin to only accept cash, as many are unable to get credit and debit purchases to go through due to no cell, lines to get gas and cash have been imminent.
In West Asheville, amid the distant clatter of chainsaws cutting through downed trees, a line gathered at BJ’s Food Mart for their 9 a.m. opening. When the cash only gas station opened, screams across Haywood Road could be heard: “No gas! Cash only! No gas!”
In downtown, an hour-and-a-half-long line had formed at the Wells Fargo Building ATM, as residents piled in to get cash for groceries, water and gas. Some were trying to get out of town, others, who lived nearby, were just trying to get enough cash for the coming days. Those who were already in line for gas reported that they had been turned away.
“We came downtown looking for gas,” said Stephan Amann. “We were in line for one of the gas stations on Merrimon, but they ran out before we got there, which was inconvenient.”
Amann and his partner, who live in North Asheville, had tried to leave town, but there is no way out.
“We’ve tried, but it looks like there’s really no where to go. We tried going north. We were turned away as wee got up towards Marshall,” he said.
Driving back to Pennsylvania, Anthony Yavorski has now been trapped in Asheville, staying with his friend Johnathan Douglas. Yavorski and Douglas waited over an hour to collect cash from the ATM.
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“It would have been nice to have a little bit more forewarning for sure,” Yavorski said.
“I had to double back here. I was trying to get to I was trying to go north,” he continued.
Douglas, who was in line with two children, said that they are holding up in their North Asheville home “OK.”
“We have a grill. We got a pool in there, so we’ve got plenty of flushing water,” Douglas said.
One of the major concerns right now for residents is water, as grocery and convivence stores have rapidly run out. Many are searching for water. Grocery stores have metered customer entrances and the city and county have yet to establish water distribution sites as of the early afternoon of Sept. 29.
“We do need some potable water. I’ve got tons of juice and stuff like that. But, you know, the main thing is, just getting clean, keeping the grocery or the dishes clean. That kind of stuff,” Douglas continued.
Others in the area are slightly more optimistic. Shane Childers, who is from Charleston, South Carolina and now lives in Arden, said he had experienced hurricanes before but said the fallout from the storm “is way worse” than anything he’d experienced. Though he was getting cash to “stay prepared,” he hoped to find somewhere to relax as the region continues to deal with the outcome of Tropical Storm Helene.
“We’re gonna poke our heads around. Hope we find a bar,” Childers said.
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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Time
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Helene floods in Asheville cause gas, water, cash shortages
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