WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C. — Cleanup continues in Watauga County, where crews are working to restore power and repair roads that were destroyed by Hurricane Helene.
There are also several community care sites in Cove Creek, where folks can get access to hot meals, showers and supplies following the storm.
Things are calm now, but when Helene hit, the water got so high it flooded the area and took out the bridge on Isaac's Branch Road, leaving people in over two dozen homes stranded. NCDOT has been on site since Tuesday to build a new bridge. Families have been cleaning up for nearly two weeks. Many say this has been an extremely challenging time.
"Just putting one foot in front of the other and trusting that everything is going to be OK," Laura Ann Campbell said. "That's all you can do because I lost everything."
Campbell runs Pet Prairie Dog Retreat. During the storm, 15 dogs in her care had to be evacuated.
"It was so deep they were swimming," she said. "There was no walking them at this point, and they were large, willful and scared."
Campbell's precious family heirlooms are now scattered across her yard, along with furniture and other keepsakes. Some items were lost forever to the storm.
"Pictures, books, collections of postcards my aunt had saved from WWII," she said. "I'm the oldest grandchild on both sides, so I've kind of been the gatekeeper of family possessions and correspondence."
Samaritan's Purse volunteers have covered the area since Helene passed, helping families clean up and get their homes as close to order as they possibly can.
"You're picking up pieces of pottery, pictures. You're picking up people's lives and having to put it in a pile, so that's the hard part," volunteer Jo Tew said. "We work with a homeowner to get their house back in order so they can get back to life again and restore them in a way that they at least feel human again."
Left with no power or hot water, neighbors flock to the community center for much-needed comfort that includes showers, warm meals and necessities. Campbell is picking herself up and taking it one day at a time.
"What doesn't break you makes you stronger," she said. "The creator does not give you more than you can handle and I just keep telling myself that."
Meanwhile, a flipped car sits in the water a few feet away from the washed-out bridge.
"The amount of damage we are seeing here is historic," NCDOT engineer Marcus Kiser said.
Neighbors have been using a safety line, a small boat and even a makeshift walkway to get across. For NCDOT, providing emergency access for families is a priority, as the agency works with a private contractor to get a walkway built.
"That's nothing more than laying a big, long beam across the river," Kiser said. "People who are trapped can at least get across the bridge on foot, back and forth to get supplies."
Kiser said this is one of many bridges they're working on, using large beams so cars can eventually get across. He said the temporary bridge will be in place for a "very long time" until a permanent solution is built.
NCDOT crews are working overtime to get repairs done but low connectivity, a lack of power and travel conditions have created challenges in western North Carolina.
"There's a lot of main roads that are gone and secondary roads that are gone," Kiser said. "We have been to several roads where they are no more. So, then we are riding off road in our vehicles."
Crews hope to have the temporary bridge finished by the end of the week so folks can drive across, but also so power crews can reach homes with their equipment to restore electricity.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.