Family tries to rebuild mountain oasis after Helene destroyed it

WEAVERVILLE, N.C. — Channel 9 returned to the High Country again after Helene destroyed communities where people are trying to rebuild.

The first time Channel 9 introduced you to the Miljour family, our crew flew with a National Guard rescue team that checked on mountain homes.

The Miljour family didn’t want to leave their Weaverville home in the days after Helene’s devastation.

They wanted help and access.

Weeks later, it’s calmer, but property owner Patrick Miljour said he will never forget the day their lives changed.

“(The) flood was something that, I don’t think anyone could ever have imagined,” he told Channel 9′s Hannah Goetz.

Floodwaters crushed through the property moving anything in its path.

A steel and concrete bridge is now scattered down the property.

“That water bent these beams. To me, is just unfathomable,” Miljour said.

Miljour and his wife built their dream property where they have lived for 27 years.

“There used to be a cabin right here. This is where my parent’s cabin sat,” Miljour told Channel 9.

The cabins were for family and Airbnb rentals. He pointed out where a cabin once stood.

Cabins lined the creek and Miljour built a swimming hole at the center of the property. It was an oasis for the family, a home base for every holiday and party.

“It was a sanctuary,” he said. “If anything happened bad in the world, everyone would come here.”

The damage from Helene changed that.

“It doesn’t seem real at all,” Miljour said.

He estimates the damage to be at least $3 million.

“We got a lot of work to do,” Miljour said.

Instead of managing the rentals, the Miljours spend days cleaning mud and dirt.

He said they can’t rebuild alone.

“I kind of felt bad like asking for help but … maybe it was my turn,” Miljour said.

They’re using their story to bring help and hope to the Mountains.

“The small wins are, they can be huge if you look at it like that,” Miljour said. “I don’t know how I’m so fortunate to have so many friends and have so many people that have come together to help us, and you know what I mean, to just really be there for us. And that’s what gets us through, honestly.”

VIDEO: Body of missing woman recovered from campground month after Tropical Storm Helene

Body of missing woman recovered from campground month after Tropical Storm Helene

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