MORGANTON, N.C. — A monster is brewing in the Gulf. As Hurricane Helene heads this way, local officials in the High Country are scrambling into action. “We’re doing a lot of coordination with our local and state partners locally,” says Will Holt, the Emergency Services Director with Watauga County. “The public works has been clearing out storm drains, things like that in the municipalities,” Holt adds, “Flash flooding is really the name of the game here… It tends to come up very fast, but it also goes down very fast.” Portions of the western Carolinas could see close to a foot of rain through Saturday morning… and the mountains will only make the flooding worse. “Water tends to drain into Boone versus draining out of Boone a lot of times,” says Holt, “That inch of rain that may cover a square mile of flat land, it’s all going to get funneled into a mountain valley.” Governor Roy Cooper has declared a state of emergency for North Carolina… and neighboring Burke County is taking advantage. “It just prepares us to be able to go ahead and start calling crews in the State Emergency Management Group,” Jennifer Holt with Burke County Emergency Services tells us. “They start getting things ready and calling around to see who would have assets to be deployed.” Assets like extra swiftwater rescue teams, power crews, and recovery units for after the storm. “I would say people are taking it more seriously now,” says Saydie Bean, a reporter with The Paper, a local newspaper run in Morganton. She’s been gauging the preparedness with officials in the Foothills ahead of Helene. “There’s been a lot more talk about this.” Residents in Morganton are battening down the hatches. “We made sure all the furniture was brought in and all the drains were cleared,” says Robert Dunn, who works downtown. These residents are also ready for some extended time indoors. “Be careful, be smart,” adds Hood, “Make sure you have food, medicine, water for about three days. And batteries. Charge up your cell phone, get the board games out.” “My wife’s made a really nice chicken soup for the next two days,” says Dunn with a smile.