‘Overwhelming’ turnout; 200 volunteers join forces to restore north Buxton after Hurricane Erin

More than 200 volunteers interrupted their Labor Day weekend plans to get their hands dirty clearing Hurricane Erin–driven debris in the Old Lighthouse Road area of Buxton.

Northern Buxton was one of the hardest-hit areas during the storm and was repeatedly subjected to cycles of ocean overwash that corresponded with multiple extreme high tides.

Buxton on August 22. Photo by Don Bowers.

After the storm departed, Old Lighthouse Road and its ocean-facing side streets were cluttered with construction materials, pieces of lumber, and dangerous debris of all sizes, with nails and glass poking through the piles of waste.

Aiming to restore a neighborhood comprised mainly of vacation rental homes, the Buxton Civic Association (BCA) announced a post-storm cleanup on Saturday, August 30, and called for volunteers to help remove the leftover remnants of Hurricane Erin’s wreckage.

It was the first endeavor of its kind for the BCA, and the members weren’t sure how many volunteers would forfeit a beautiful beach day on a holiday weekend to pick up storm debris instead.

“I said I would be happy with 50 people, and we are well over 200 volunteers so far,” said BCA Secretary Wendi Munden on Saturday morning. “We thought that 100 trash bags were going to be enough, and we’ve handed out 250 bags and counting.”

The BCA set up a tent near the Yaupon Inn parking lot to sign in volunteers as they arrived and to hand out work gloves, bug spray, and donuts donated by Conner’s Supermarket.

The cleanup was officially scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., but folks were in line and ready to work starting around 8:30.

“We’re grateful for so many people that came out, not just from our community, but from Currituck, and from other places, and even visitors who are staying here and wanted to help out,” said Munden. “There are kids out there with chainsaws, there are people that don’t know each other working together… It’s just incredible how everyone has come together.”

Nonprofit organizations like the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association and Cape Hatteras United Methodist Men brought groups of people to chip in, and some volunteers came equipped with heavy-duty equipment to make the job easier.

BCA’s Munden (left) and Jennette (Right)

Buxton Volunteer Fire Department Chief Carroll Midgett showed up with a Bobcat to drag huge pieces of debris scattered along the oceanfront to four dumpsters that were donated by Dare County.

“Carroll Midgett had other things he had to do today, and he told us that he could give us an hour or two to help,” said Munden on Saturday afternoon. “Well, he has been here since nine o’clock, and he has not stopped working.”

The four on-loan dumpsters were filled to the brim within just a couple of hours, and Dare County will be collecting the trash and removing the full containers early this week, thanks to connections with county officials, including Commissioners Bob Woodard and Mary Ellon Ballance.

Ballance also pitched in during Saturday’s cleanup and said that the turnout was inspiring, although not unusual for the local community.

“People always say it’s the beach that makes this place beautiful, but it’s the people,” she said. “Everyone is out here cleaning rental properties that they don’t own, and everyone is working so hard to restore the area. And that’s what we do after storms.”

Angelo’s Pizza in Buxton, alongside Susan Sigmon, donated 20 pizzas, while NAPA Auto Parts donated Gatorade, and local motels gave the volunteer teams parking and debris-collection spots on their lots. Atlantic OBX dropped off port-a-potties for the several hundred volunteers, and local homeowners and neighbors donated cookies to help fuel the hardworking crews.

“It’s amazing how many people wanted to help,” said Munden. “A lot of times after a storm, people jump on the cleanup because it’s our local homes and neighborhoods. But this was very different, because all of our locals came together for our non-resident property owners in Buxton, so I think it gives a taste to our property owners and visitors of what Hatteras Island does well. It’s not just about helping our own – Hatteras helps everybody.”

Throughout the morning, the volunteers tackled varying jobs. Most stuffed trash bags or loaded larger debris into the backs of pickup trucks, trailers, and wheelbarrows, while others with Bobcats and bulldozers transported piles to the waiting dumpsters.

It was a flurry of nonstop movement that targeted multiple oceanfront side streets all at once, and within just a few hours, the northern Buxton area was transformed.

BCA President Heather Jennette was near tears as she rode her bike along Old Lighthouse Road on Saturday afternoon and took in what 200 volunteers had accomplished.

“I’m overwhelmed,” she said. “When we came out here this morning, just four hours ago, it looked like a war zone. It was such a mess. And now, everything looks so different…

“I think we sometimes get caught up in the ‘This place isn’t what it used to be – it’s all dead and gone.’ It’s not. It’s right here.”