Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says it could take months for I-40 to be restored after Hurricane Helene. In remote mountain areas, helicopters hoisted the stranded to safety while search crews moved toppled trees so they could look door to door for survivors. In some places, homes teetered on hillsides and washed-out riverbanks. Electricity is being slowly restored, as the number of homes and businesses without power dipped below 1 million for the first time since last weekend, according to poweroutage.us. Most of the outages are in the Carolinas and Georgia, where Helene struck after barreling over Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 4 hurricane. Deaths have been reported in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia, in addition to the Carolinas. Robin Wynn lost power at her Asheville home early Friday and was able to grab a bag of canned goods and water before getting to a shelter despite water up to her knees. “I didn’t know where I was going, didn’t know what was going to happen next. But I got out and I’m alive,” Wynn said on Wednesday. Now that she’s back home, her neighbors have been watching out for one another. Plenty of people have come around to make sure everyone has a hot meal and water, she said. Eric Williamson, who works at First Baptist Church in Hendersonville, normally makes home visits to members who can’t physically get to church. This week, he’s their lifeline, delivering food that meets dietary restrictions and tossing out food that had spoiled. Read more: https://www.9news.com/article/news/nation-world/helene-death-toll-rises-georgia-north-carolina-search-rescue-efforts-continue/507-7a3b7c82-33f8-47af-9a9f-8c934a3d590c Video: CNN More local videos here: https://bit.ly/2Pa0d1l Subscribe to NEXT: http://bit.ly/2eP1GwI Stay connected: 9NEWS Website: http://www.9news.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ilike9news Twitter: https://twitter.com/9NEWS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/9newsdenver/ Download the 9NEWS App: https://www.9news.com/appredirect/ Sign up for the 9NEWSLETTER: https://www.9news.com/email 9NEWS (KUSA) is located in Denver, Colorado.