YANCEY COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) – One family in North Carolina can finally turn off their generator for good.
Their power was restored over the weekend, nearly three months after it went out in Yancey County during Hurricane Helene.
Diane Merz moved to the picturesque home from New England with her husband 25 years ago.
“It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful,” Merz remembered.
She photographed wildlife living peacefully in the greenery across the Kane River.
That all changed in late September.
“Now there’s nothing,” the homeowner said. “We’ve got one tree left for them to sit in if they come back.”
Merz says her home sits 40 or 50 feet above the water; the river rose to within 7 feet of their fence line.
“There was no road here. The road in front of our home all the way down, probably to where the road bends, was gone. There was no road,” Merz said. “The river had moved over and the river was directly below us.”
