INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A western North Carolina couple on Monday said it will take years for their community to recover from the effects of Hurricane Helene.

Libby and Ron McKinney, who have extended family in Indianapolis, live in Bakersville, N.C. It’s a small town in the Appalachian Mountains about 50 miles northeast of Asheville, near the Tennessee line. The McKinneys say they were in their home on a hilltop when the storm came through, bringing high winds and torrential rain. Their home wasn’t damaged but large trees fell in their front and back yards.

“The trees look like they’ve been just sheared off,” he said.

Although the McKinneys escaped flood damage, their home lost power and cell service. They say it took them two days to get word out to their family they were OK. They say they finally got a call through on Sunday afternoon by going to the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway, where there were spots of limited service.

Others weren’t so lucky. Western North Carolina is mountainous, with small communities dotting the roads between Asheville and Boone, nestled in North Carolina’s northwest corner and home to Appalachian State University. Many of those communities lie along creeks and rivers such as Cane Creek, which runs through Bakersville, and the French Broad River, which runs through Asheville. Those waterways overflowed, washing out roads and inundating homes and businesses. Many western North Carolina communities on Monday remained cut off from supplies and help.

The McKinneys say only one road is currently open into or out of Mitchell County, where Bakersville is located. The McKinneys say some stores took to selling supplies for cash so people could get what they needed. In the meantime, they say, their neighbors are helping each other out where they can.

“We were driving down a road and a tree was down, and a man was out with an ax, and somebody stopped with a power saw,” Libby said. “They come together to help each other.”

The McKinneys on Monday were staying with family in Charlotte. They say it took their son two days and seven different roads to get from Charlotte to Bakersville, a trip that normally takes less than two hours.

The McKinneys say communities in western North Carolina have spent years fixing up their towns, applying for grants and trying to revitalize the area. They say the damage from Helene will set them back years, especially considering the vital role tourism plays in the area’s economy. Leisure and hospitality account for 15% of the Asheville area’s jobs, the second-largest sector in that area.

“It’s going to take a horrendous amount of resources to restore not just Mitchell County but all of western North Carolina, Asheville, and all of the towns,” Ron said. “It’s really a national disaster.”

The McKinneys plan to stay with family in Charlotte for the next few weeks.

Asked what their communities need now, they said the best way to help is to pray for them and to donate to disaster relief organizations, though Libby added you should make sure they are legitimate first.