Higher Ground: A Four-Part Special Report on Two Years of Helene Recovery

Two years ago this month, Hurricane Helene tore through western North Carolina. This 3-part special report, "Higher Ground" we take a look at what broke, what's been rebuilt, and what two years of recovery actually looks like on the ground. In this opening chapter, we go back to the moment it started — inside the room where one county had to decide how to warn a quarter million people that their homes were no longer safe, and to a much smaller town an hour and a half away that came within inches of losing its dam.

Two Years After Helene, Duke Energy Says It Rebuilt a Smarter Grid — Here's What That Took, and What It Cost.An "electric army" of 23,000 workers from 20 states and Canada restored power to 2.7 million customers after Hurricane Helene. Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks walked WNCW through the restoration, the technology the company says has already prevented 1.4 million outages this year, and what's still being paid for.

Two years after Hurricane Helene, the roads are mostly open, and the power is mostly back. But for thousands of families across western North Carolina, recovery still comes down to one question: when do I get to go home?