IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — Helene knocked power out across the Carolinas resulting in cellular and internet outages. But when modern technology fails, wireless radios shine.
"We have a specific mission and that is to provide emergency communications in disasters," said Dan Gitro, a licensed amateur radio operator in Iredell County who is known to his fellow ham radio enthusiasts as K2DMG.
Amateur radio operators, also known as ham radio operators, stepped up to offer a helping hand.
"We don’t need modern technology for amateur radio," Gitro explained. "We need a battery, a generator, something to power a radio and you can have communication anywhere in the world."
That's how Gitro has been able to coordinate welfare checks and emergency broadcasts after Helene.
"We are still taking reports from people in areas who have not heard from first response," he told WCNC Charlotte on Wednesday.
It's a radio network Callen Holmes said she is grateful for after ham radio operators helped her reach her 93-year-old grandfather Cedar Mountain, North Carolina.
"They had lost power. We knew that, we had tried to get in touch with them. Service is bad," Holmes explained.
Holmes’ father and brother decided to make the drive from Alabama to pick up their loved one. She shared how they tapped into the network.
"I was listening to the ham radio, writing down every single street that they could take," she said "A lot of reports were coming over the air saying 'this road's closed.'"
The radio communications allowed them to make it safely and get Holmes the reassurance she needed.
"Hearing that they were alive and well, was so great," she said. "Seeing him in person was amazing. I was able to give him a big hug."
It is reunions like this that fuel Gitro through long days.
"As long as there is a need out there, I'll be right here in this seat to help folks," Gitro said.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
