Jeff and Debra Twersky traveled from Vashon Island to North Carolina to celebrate a family birthday last month, but instead found themselves drawn into the widespread devastation of Hurricane Helene at their remote Airbnb.

The celebratory getaway in the small mountain town of Weaverville — a place much like Vashon, known for its friendly community, scenic charm and vibrant arts scene just eight miles from Asheville — quickly turned into a survival story with an unlikely hero.

The couple arrived in North Carolina the evening of Tuesday, September 24. They’d planned for a peaceful week celebrating Debra’s sister’s 65th birthday, and noticed the drive from the rental car pickup to their mountain retreat was surprisingly wet.

“It started coming down so hard that you could not see,” Jeff said.

Stopping for dinner to wait out the rain, the pair eventually made it to the cabin to meet their family. The next night, Wednesday evening, they strolled through Asheville’s vibrant River Arts District — a walk they would later reflect on after learning the area had been devastated, submerged under more than 20 feet of water.

It rained hard on Thursday, though it wasn’t yet a hurricane; Jeff estimated nearly 10 inches had fallen before Helene even arrived.

Many of the historic brick buildings, pottery shops, and cozy cafes are now gone. The arts district was devastated, much of it washed away just two days after their walk. The New York Times reported that 460,000 people in the area were without power, and Weaverville’s water treatment plant sustained severe damage, flooded by eight feet of rainwater.

“We knew there was a hurricane, but we had no idea it was going to do what it did,” Jeff said. “I don’t think anyone in that part of North Carolina really understood.”

While North Carolina is susceptible to hurricanes, especially along its coast, storms rarely reach the Asheville area, located in the Appalachian Mountains about 250 miles inland. By the time they reach this far west, hurricanes typically weaken to tropical storms or depressions, bringing heavy rain, flooding, and strong winds rather than the intense storm surges seen on the coast.

With relatives in Florida, the couple initially thought that’s where their worries should lie.

Their rental house sat at the very top of a 200-yard gravel driveway, surrounded by towering pine trees. Early on Friday, September 27 the storm struck and they lost power at 1 a.m.

“When the hurricane came … we were watching these trees basically bent at 90-degree angles, wondering which one is going to break and, hopefully, not hit the house,” Jeff said. “None of them did … in that sense, we were lucky.”

After the storm passed on Saturday, they found their driveway entirely blocked by fallen trees, as was the main road, trapping them on the property. Anticipating the worst, they’d filled the bathtubs with water before losing power and cell service in the middle of the night.

That morning they hiked to nearby neighbors, who were also without power or water, and were generously given canned food and wine to help them through the aftermath of the storm.

The couple also encountered an unusual yet helpful neighbor: Tim, a classic North Carolina mountain man complete with a white beard reaching to his waist, a .45 Magnum on his hip and a machete by his side. Riding a four-wheel ATV, he proved to be an unexpected lifeline.

Tim and the neighbors who provided the wine started clearing a path.

“These guys were experienced woodsmen,” Jeff said. “They heated their houses with the wood they cut. They lived in these mountains for decades.”

Armed with chainsaws, these neighbors spent countless hours clearing fallen trees, tackling the 20 massive pines blocking the main road and the eight trees obstructing the driveway. But some trees, twisted tightly together, were too dangerous to remove without special equipment, leaving the couple still stranded.

As the days passed, the Twerskys’ supplies of food, water, and medications began to dwindle.

“I’m 70 … we’re all older, running out of medications,” Jeff said. “We had no way to get ahold of anyone … or know exactly how bad it was in town.”

Jeff went outside and held his phone high in the air, hoping for a flicker of cell service. A satellite icon appeared on his screen, and suddenly a flood of texts came pouring in from his daughter Emma Twersky in San Francisco.

Emma rearranged their flights, booked one of the last available hotel rooms in Charlotte, identified the only open road, and coordinated a ride to get her folks out.

Jeff’s sister-in-law’s daughter and a friend managed to pick them up at the end of the driveway on Sunday evening, also bringing in gallons of water and gasoline for the neighborhood.

Without the new satellite feature on their phones and their daughter’s help, Debra estimates they would have been stranded for another five days.

“Dealing with the people in western North Carolina was just about the most heartening thing I have seen in years,” Jeff said. “It was just a really diverse group of people and it did not matter; everyone chipped in to do whatever they could.”

“Everything is neighbors in an emergency,” Debra said.

The couple said they learned to pack extra medication when traveling. And in the end, they reflected on how lucky they were. Helene is the deadliest hurricane to strike the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005, according to news reports, which have pegged the total death count at more than 220 people.

“All things considered, we were incredibly lucky,” Jeff said. “People lost everything. People lost their lives. People lost their homes. People lost their livelihoods.”