Asheville – Amid the devastation caused by Helene, the stories of those who step up to help restore communities shine a light on humanity’s resilience and compassion. One of those search and recovery groups is Cajun Navy 2016, also known as PinnacleSAR.
Cajun Navy Is Born
During Hurricane Katrina a call went out to all sportsmen with boats to rescue thousand of stranded citizens from the floodwaters. These “Cajuns” came in like an armada, and were dubbed the Cajun Navy by a reporter. Many groups have now adopted the name, but Cajun Navy 2016 (CN2016) is the one that has been here since day one.

These amazing people were trained by Katrina, but were really tested in 2016 by a no-name storm that dumped 36 inches of rain, flooding much of south Louisiana. Many of the volunteers lost their own homes and possessions, just as the victims they were helping did. They have not stopped helping since.
A Forecast Of Trouble
Jon Bridgers, Founder and President, said they were heading to Florida when they saw the forecast for North Carolina and changed directions to follow Helene into WNC. Speaking of that first day, Bridges said, “Everything was in disarray. There was no power, no water, a total infrastructure fail. The police had no radios, fire department, there was just no communication anywhere. So we did whatever we could do that day.”The next day they made their way to Black Mountain, where Montreat Conference Center gave them a temporary home.
Adaptability Is Key
CN2016 initially came to do search and rescue. Trained in swift water rescue, they brought their boats, but the water was moving too fast, and was too rough. Having deployed to too many disaster areas to count, this group knows you have to be adaptable. “Whenever we first got here nobody had food and water. We came in with a 24 foot enclosed trailer full of food and water that we got outside of the disaster area and immediately started passing that out. The people that had generators, we were able to provide them gas,” said Bridgers. “We did a lot of chainsaw work. We had people from everywhere volunteer to bring heavy equipment in.” Robert Pearson, VP of CN2016, added, “On this particular deployment we’ve done something that we’ve never done before, not only cutting up trees but having to remove thousands of yards of dirt with all these landslide. In some of those areas we had to go back the following morning because more came down. Our biggest concern now is getting people out of the cold.”
Another new experience for this group was the number of people who wanted to volunteer to help. The requests were overwhelming. Bridgers stated that they were getting 3,000 to 4,000 requests per day. Their Amazon wish list, which normally gets around 1,000 orders, was sending 3,000 to 9,000 packages per day, which they would then deliver to local churches and other distribution centers. They’ve also had campers donated.
In Love With the Local People
Kelly Angelle, a member of Cajun Air Lift, has been involved in disaster recovery efforts alongside the Cajun Navy. “It’s hard to leave this place,” she admitted. “The people here are incredible—graceful, resilient, and determined despite everything they’ve been through.” Bridgers agreed, “We met a lot of wonderful people, we’ve lent our shoulders for them to cry on, we pray for them.
“We’re Not Leaving You”
After nine weeks of relief work here, the Cajun Navy 2016 has packed up to go home to their families and businesses, but had this to say, “There’s a lot of people hurting up here and it’s not over, it’s just now starting. They’re gonna need a lot of help. It’s gonna be a long road but we’re all praying for you. Technically, we’re not leaving you. There will be people coming up here throughout all that period of time and helping. You’re not forgotten.
Watch for the full videos on the Tribune Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thetribunepapers.