In a retrospective written for the May 2025 issue of Southern Living Magazine, author Barbara Kingsolver describes walking along a trail near her home in the Appalachian Mountains months after Hurricane Helene struck the region: “we’ll rise like these seedlings from our scoured landscape, blessed with the kindness we’ve shared with our neighbors and the will to extend our care to those who follow behind us on these paths.”
Kingsolver is describing early signs of regrowth in a forest that lost countless trees when Helene tore through in September 2024. This passage sums up the spirit of community-based resilience that has made recovery and rebuilding possible in Helene’s wake. Fittingly, propane is playing a major role in the story.
Kingsolver recounts how gas grills and a propane-fueled refrigerated van kept people fed in her community in Southwest Virginia while the power was out. Similar scenarios played out across western North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia, with power outages in some areas lasting several weeks.
Looking back: propane powers Helene response
The propane industry, powered by its people and companies large and small, launched a swift and sustained response that provided life-saving comfort in Helene’s aftermath.
Reagan Bonnette, owner of Stringer Oil & LP Gas in Anderson, SC, organized propane cylinders, parts, and other supplies and delivered them to hard-hit locations in western North Carolina, including Bakersville, Burnsville, and Newland. Stringer delivered 50 propane cylinders and 200 propane tank regulators to Youngs Fuel Service, another small family-owned company that suffered severe losses to the storm.
A pickup truck loaded with propane cylinders prepares to depart Stringer Oil & LP Gas in Anderson, SC, headed to western North Carolina to assist in Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.
Blossman Gas was able to put 36 propane autogas-fueled propane delivery trucks into service in North Carolina one day after Helene struck, despite the difficulty in accessing retail locations in affected areas and some employees losing their homes. Deliveries prioritized locations with critical power generation needs including medical facilities and emergency communications.
The Propane and Power Relief Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was created by an alliance of propane retailers and energy companies led by Elite Power and Energy Corp. President K.D. Tidwell. Within about a month after the storm, the fund’s supporters had accumulated more than $300,000 worth of monetary donations, propane, and equipment, going directly to assist recovery and rebuilding efforts. Tidwell continues to make return trips to deliver propane-powered generators and other crucial items.
Stories about propane’s role in hurricane recovery are too numerous to count— and they’re only one part of a larger story about preparedness and resilience.
Looking ahead: propane’s role in preparedness
In January 2025, just three months after Helene and Milton struck the Southeast, the Los Angeles area was struck by a series of historic wildfires that destroyed communities and tested the ability of response agencies to cope. At the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection incident command center in Malibu, a propane-powered mobile kitchen provided hot meals to firefighters as they battled the Palisades, Eaton, and Hughes fires. The propane was supplied by Los Angeles-based Ted Johnson Propane.
Propane-powered generators offer reliability and emissions benefits over gasoline and diesel models.
For Ted Johnson Propane owner Julie Johnson, the fires laddered up to a wider conversation about propane power generation. Power outages can spread beyond the direct impact zone of a wildfire, and utilities in California often perform public safety power shut offs when high winds increase fire risk, leaving homes and businesses in the dark.
“Now we get tons of questions from friends and customers who want to be prepared because it’s not if, it’s when is going to be the next fire,” Johnson explained. “Our energy grid is so fragile.”
Propane: ideal energy for recovery and resilience
Propane is safe, reliable, affordable, and abundant. It can keep heat, hot water, and other appliances running and provide primary and backup power independently of the electric grid and in places where natural gas lines don’t reach. Propane is a low-carbon fuel that, unlike diesel and gasoline, produces virtually no particulate matter emissions. Also unlike diesel and gasoline, propane can be easily transported and stored indefinitely without degrading; it is ready for action when needed. These characteristics make it ideal for disaster preparedness and crucial for long-term recovery and resilience.
This September marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene, with the first anniversary of Hurricane Milton, which also struck the Southeast, coming less than two weeks later in early October. The rebuilding process is still ongoing, and the 2025 hurricane season is underway as of June 1. Preparedness and long-term recovery often overlap.
Speaking a month after Helene in October of 2024, Reagan Bonnette said, “This recovery is a marathon, not a sprint.” With propane, communities have the fuel they need to reach the finish line.
