In hard-hit Yancey County, crews continue to try to reach those deeply affected by Helene's path of destruction.
Devin Burgin knows these roads like the back of his hand.
"When we got out into the areas, we realized how much water and how much damage it truly done, and it was terrifying," Burgin said. "We didn't expect that at all."
Burgin, a volunteer firefighter is facing the toughest challenge of his life.
"What you're looking at, this whole field was completely underwater," Burgin told ABC11. There's a car over there."
Burgin pointed to a field that became a river as his crews worked to reach people trapped in a home across a broken bridge.
In hard-hit Yancey County, crews continue to try to reach those deeply affected by Helene's path of destruction.
"We was able to get to them through this field once it had drained down a little bit," Burgin said.
In and around Burnsville, more bridges were gone, homes destroyed, lives lost.
Burgin has been working nonstop for nine days
"I've seen mortal destruction, houses completely gone, places where if you weren't from here, you wouldn't know there was a house at one point in time," he said.
The toughest call of them all was the one that hit closest to home.
"My step-grandma and grandpa, they had lost their house, and she did not make it out due to a landslide, but he had crawled out of his house," Burgin said. "It was mortal destruction."
He personally rescued his grandpa Ray but his grandma Susan was gone.
She was a great, kind woman," he said. "She loved to make things and do arts and crafts."
But even as he deals with grief and loss, Burgin realizes that his heartbroken community needs him even more.
"I realize I just got to power through my own battles to try and make sure everyone else is OK," he said.
As for his grandfather Ray, he is OK, just torn up and shaken up but visiting family in Winston-Salem. It remains a long road ahead for this family and the greater community in Burnsville and Yancey County.