Volunteer group ‘Redneck Air Force’ aids Helene victims in North Carolina

By Taylor Thompson

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    BUNCOMBE COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — One volunteer organization in Buncombe County has taken matters into their own hands to help those reeling from the impacts of Hurricane Helene.

The organization called Savage Freedom Ops has taken on the nickname of the “Redneck Air Force.”

News 13 went out to their operation headquarters on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at the Harley Davidson in Swannanoa.

News 13 spoke with one of the volunteer pilots, Aaron Rudolf, who said this operation essentially started with a Facebook post from a friend asking for help following Helene. With flying being a hobby of Aaron’s, he came as soon as he saw the need and then it grew from there.

“The helicopter community is a really small community, so when there’s a need, everyone kind of spreads the word and it gets out there pretty quick,” he said.

Between volunteers, civilian pilots and ex-military pilots, Rudolf said it is a mix of everything.

This initial response has turned into a long-term operation. Rudolf said this is not something that is going to end next week – this will go on for months and potentially years.

Their goal is to ensure that people in remote areas have the supplies they need to survive. So, the group has been going back and forth to drop off supplies to some areas three to four times a day.

He said they had not seen a ton of government assistance in the areas they have been to.

“The first seven days we were here, I didn’t see anyone from FEMA or anyone like that, but we start seeing them around now,” he said.

At a press conference on Monday, Oct. 7, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said that they have deployed thousands to help.

“We have brought in nearly 3,400 federal responders from across the different departments and agencies to North Carolina,” she said.

Criswell said that there has been misinformation about the $750 of immediate assistance being given to people.

“I’ve heard rumors that if you take our $750 and don’t pay it back, we’re going to take your home. [That is] absolutely false. The $750 gets you money to help with medicine or the food you lost in your refrigerator,” she said.

She said that the $750 is for immediate needs right after this storm and then there is additional assistance following.

“We will be able to help them with any costs that occurred if they rented a place or if they went to a hotel. We will also give them funding and financial resources for repairs for their home,” she said.

The issue with this misinformation is that it is resulting in people being afraid to apply for assistance.

“The rest of the funding will continue to come but again I need people to apply for that so we can get them the resources they need,” she said.

For Rudolf, he said that their efforts will not stop.

“I’ve been relocating search and rescue, we’ve been flying cadaver dogs, we’ve been doing wellness checks – it’s been a little bit of everything,” he said.

He said that they are able to do this because of help from near and far, leading them to be able to donate 1,200 Starlinks so far.

“Being able to land in some of these remote areas where these people hadn’t had any connection to the outside world for two or three days and being able to set up that Starlink and have 20 to 30 people gathered around letting their loved ones know they’re okay,” he said.

He said that when they land and drop supplies, it is amazing to see these basic necessities bring joy and happiness to people.

He ensured that they will continue to work to get to these remote communities for as long as it takes.

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