Mules bring supplies to Kentucky tornado victims cut off due to storm damage
Part of Mountain Mule Packers, a group that specializes in mule packing training primarily to Special Forces teams, Mission Mules focuses on using mules to provide disaster relief.
FILE: Couple severely injured as EF-4 tornado destroys Kentucky home
A couple held on to each other tight and were injured but survived when an EF-4 tornado destroyed their home in London, Kentucky Friday.
MOUNT VICTORY, Ky. – The nonprofit Mission Mules of North Carolina is helping survivors of deadly tornadoes that devastated parts of Kentucky on Friday.
The most monstrous of the tornadoes was an EF-4 behemoth that ran a 55-mile rampage across Pulaski and Laurel Counties in south-central Kentucky with winds of up to 170 mph.
Mount Victory in Pulaski County was one of those communities. Located near the Daniel Boone National Forest, Mount Victory saw the tornado down countless trees and hurl debris across roads, cutting off many families from assistance.
Storm damage in Pulaski County, Kentucky.
(Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 8 / FOX Weather)
Mission Mules founders Michele and Mike Toberer are deploying their mule teams where conventional vehicles can not reach.
Part of Mountain Mule Packers, an organization that specializes in mule packing training primarily for Special Forces teams, Mission Mules focuses on using mules to provide disaster relief, according to Michele Toberer.
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She noted that Mission Mules began after a mule training session at their ranch in North Carolina was delayed due to Hurricane Helene.
FILE: Mules with Mountain Mule Packer Ranch.
(Mountain Mule Packer Ranch / FOX Weather)
"We started watching some of the reports of what was going on; we just couldn’t believe what we were seeing," she said. "And so, Mike just pretty quickly said, ‘You know, we’ve got everything loaded. Let’s get some supplies and see if we can get up there and help.' "
"It really was just a decision to go help and see," she added. "He knew he could get into some of those areas that they were showing were inaccessible."
After helping Helene victims, Mission Mules was born, and Mission Mules teams went out to assist other disaster areas.
Now on the ground at Mount Victory, Mountain Mule Packers owner Mike Toberer and his team are bringing assistance to a tornado-stricken area for the first time.
Mission Mules team assisting local law enforcement in Mount Victory, Kentucky.
(Mission Mules)
Toberer described their work as using both mules and machines, such as all-terrain vehicles, to clear blocked roadways and bring supplies to people who have been isolated since the storm.
The mules play an exceptional role in accessing storm-damaged areas, given their behavior and biology.
"Mules, in general, I think are a pretty hardy animal," Michelle Toberer said. "They’re very tough and very sure-footed, and so that’s one of the reasons that packers use mules versus horses a lot of time because they’re very good at placing all four feet."
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She noted how this allows the mules to scale rocky and difficult terrain much better than horses would.
"I’ve seen it with my own eyes. They are more sure-footed and stronger. They’re stronger; pound-for-pound stronger," said Mike Toberer, who has over 40 years of packing experience.
FILE: Mules with Mountain Mule Packer Ranch.
(Mountain Mule Packer Ranch)
The Mountain Mule Packers website describes how the animals have the ability to adapt and excel in challenging conditions – including tornado-torn Mount Victory.
The tornado that devastated Mount Victory caused 18 of the 19 storm deaths that occurred in Kentucky as it tore through a number of communities.