When will the power return? Weary Carolinas residents long for relief after Helene's fury

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The weary and worn residents of Julianne Johnson's neighborhood in Asheville have been getting by without electricity since Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeast last week and upended their lives. They've been cooking on propane stoves and using dry erase boards to keep up with local happenings while wondering when the lights would come back on.

Johnson, who has a 5-year-old son and works for a land conservation group, received a text from Duke Energy promising her power would be restored by Friday night. But as of midday, utility poles and wires were still draped at odd angles across the streets, pulled down by mangled trees.

“I have no idea what’s next,” said Johnson, whose family does have some power thanks to a generator. “Just the breadth of this over the whole region, it’s kind of amazing.”

She and her neighbors have been taking care of each other since Helene came ashore Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane and carved a path of destruction as it moved northward from Florida, killing at least 220 people in six states, including at least 72 in Buncombe County, which includes Asheville. Block captains set out whiteboards with information about who can provide first aid and where to get tools repaired.

Nearly 700,000 homes and businesses — mostly in the Carolinas and Georgia — were still without electricity Friday, according to poweroutage.us. That's an improvement over the more than 2 million customers without power five days ago, and Duke Energy, the dominant provider in North Carolina, said it hoped to have the lights back on by Sunday night for many of its affected customers. But for roughly 100,000 customers in places with catastrophic damage, it could be next week or longer, according to company spokesperson Bill Norton.

“We’re talking about places where the homes no longer exist,” Norton said, adding that some roads where utility poles once stood have been completely washed away.

The company said it would miss its Friday goal of restoring power to almost all of its customers in South Carolina, and it was now shooting for Sunday. Dominion Energy also said it would take longer than initially expected to restore power to the hardest hit counties in the state.

Along Swannanoa River Road on Asheville’s east side, Duke Energy and its contractors spread out Friday afternoon to set about 20 new electricity poles in an area where floodwaters snapped or swept away many of the old ones.

David Martin, who has done engineering work for Duke for three decades in the area, said the damage is far worse than anything he has seen before.

“Repairing, most of your facility is there, it’s just putting wire back up, normally,” Martin said. “In this case we’ve got to start all new — new poles, new wires, new transformers, new services, everything. It’s all been washed out.”

Just digging the hole and placing one pole can take up to two hours, Martin said. And that doesn’t count the time needed to attach equipment or string the lines. The company can’t use a drill-like boring machine to dig many of the holes along the road because of underground utilities.

“A lot of them, you have to hand-dig the holes because there are gas lines,” Martin said.

While there were a few pre-storm poles that workers were trying to save, much of the infrastructure was totally gone. Some of Duke’s lines were washed into the middle of a fairway on the city golf course, tangled up with utility poles and trees.

And like in many places in western North Carolina, someone must first rebuild the washed-out road before the utility can finish restoring the line.

The storm damaged water utilities so severely and over such a wide area that one federal official said it “could be considered unprecedented.” Repairs could take weeks.

The lack of clean running water just added to Asheville's woes.

“I would love a shower,” said Sue Riles, who lives in the tourist-friendly city known for its art galleries, shops and breweries. “Running water would be incredible.”

Even water that’s unfit to drink is scarce. Some people have been hauling buckets from a creek to flush their toilets. Officials also are advising people to collect nondrinkable water for household needs from a local swimming pool.

Without full repairs to the water systems, schools might not be able to resume in-person classes, hospitals might not restore normal operations and hotels and restaurants might not fully reopen.

In Florida, a dozen people died in the Tampa area, with the worst damage on the narrow, 20-mile (32-kilometer) string of barrier islands that stretch from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.

“The water, it just came so fast,” said Dave Behringer, who rode out the storm in his home after telling his wife to flee. “Even if you wanted to leave, there was no getting out.”

Among the dead was Aiden Bowles, a retired restaurant owner who didn't want to leave his Indian Rocks Beach home on a barrier island north of St. Petersburg. Caregiver Amanda Normand begged the 71-year-old widower to stay with her inland.

“He said, ‘It’s going to be fine. I’m going to go to bed,’” Normand said of their final phone call the night of Sept. 26.

In North Carolina, exhausted rescue crews and volunteers continued to navigate past washed out roads, downed power lines and mudslides to reach the isolated and the missing. In Buncombe County, officials said Friday, about 75 active missing persons cases remained.

“We know these are hard times, but please know we’re coming,” Buncombe Sheriff Quentin Miller said. “We’re coming to get you. We’re coming to pick up our people.”

Associated Press journalists Gary D. Robertson, in Raleigh, North Carolina; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.

Contractors for Duke Energy rebuild destroyed electrical lines near the Swannanoa River in Asheville, N.C., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Contractors for Duke Energy dig a hole by hand to replace a utility pole in an area of destroyed electrical lines near the Swannanoa River in Asheville, N.C., on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Contractors for Duke Energy rebuild destroyed electrical lines near the Swannanoa River in Asheville, N.C., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Contractors for Duke Energy rebuild destroyed electrical lines near the Swannanoa River in Asheville, N.C., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

A bridge along Interstate 26 is destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

People clean up and burn debris left in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

People clean up debris left in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Heavy machinery is used to clear Interstate 26 as debris is burned in the background following Hurricane Helene Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

A person throws objects on a burning debris pile in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

A worker cuts up a tree that impaled itself on a fire hydrant during Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in the Oak Forest neighborhood of Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

A person walks on Interstate 26 as debris covers the roadway in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Personnel from Urban Search and Rescue Utah Task Force 1 work in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Debris covers the roadway along Interstate 26 in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Personnel from Urban Search and Rescue Utah Task Force 1 work in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

A bridge along Interstate 26 is destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

A damaged garage, caved in after a tree fell on it during the remnants of Hurricane Helene, is shown Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in the Oak Forest neighborhood of Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Cut up sections of a tree sit on front of a house Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in the Oak Forest neighborhood of Asheville, N.C., in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

People clean up debris left in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

A tree rests on a house, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in the Oak Forest neighborhood of Asheville, N.C., after a falling during the remnants of Hurricane Helene, (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

A worker cuts up a tree that impaled itself on a fire hydrant during Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in the Oak Forest neighborhood of Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Personnel from Urban Search and Rescue Utah Task Force 1 work in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, right, asks a question of South Carolina Emergency Management Director Kim Stenson, left, during a news conference Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in West Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

A destroyed home is seen after flood waters moved through the Cane river in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

David DeMeza walks out with belongings through sands pushed on to the streets by Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Treasure Island, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

President Joe Biden speaks with Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., in Keaton Beach, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, during his tour of areas impacted by Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Volunteers gather food for families at the volunteer fire station in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A volunteer gathers food for families at the volunteer fire station in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Volunteers prepare meals for firefighters and others at the volunteer fire station in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

The town sign is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

People speak outside the volunteer fire house in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A volunteer gathers food for families at the volunteer fire station in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A bus pushed by flood waters rests against Laurel Branch Baptist church in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A trailer moved by floodwater sits on the side of a road in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

North Carolina National guardsman unload water in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A man makes a call on the wireless system set up at the volunteer fire department in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Homes lie in a debris field in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A bus pushed by flood waters rests against Laurel Branch Baptist church in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A firefighter watches as a helicopter lands at a volunteer fire station in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A woman walks to her damaged home in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Dominick Gucciardo walks to his home in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Dominick Gucciardo walks to his home past a bus pushed by flood waters rests against Laurel Branch Baptist church in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Vehicles roll along on a washed up road in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jimmy Carter's memorial journey will end at his house in the tiny town of Plains, Georgia, where he grew up on a peanut farm. That is where his wife, Rosalynn, was laid to rest last year in a burial plot that they chose years ago.

But before Carter reaches his humble final destination, there will be an interstate choreography of grief, ceremony and logistics that is characteristic of state funerals. Ever since the nation’s founding, America has bid farewell to former presidents with an intricate series of events weaving together longstanding traditions and personal touches.

Funerals often are planned by the presidents themselves, who usually have years after leaving the White House to ponder how they want to be memorialized.

“They are very much involved in the planning process, and the decisions that they make tell us a lot about who they are, how they see the presidency, and how they want to be remembered by the American people,” said Matthew Costello, senior historian for the White House Historical Association, who co-wrote a book called “Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture.”

Carter had more time to plan than most. He lived for 43 years after his presidency ended, the longest post-presidency in U.S. history, before dying Sunday at 100.

Many details of his funeral remain under wraps, at the discretion of the family and military units that are responsible for carrying out the plans. Most presidents lie in state in the U.S. Capitol, and there is usually a service at Washington National Cathedral.

President Joe Biden let slip last year that Carter had asked him to give a eulogy. (“Excuse me, I shouldn’t say that,” Biden admitted.)

Biden said Sunday his team is working with Carter's family and others “to see to it that he is remembered appropriately, here in the United States and around the world.” Carter’s son Chip is his main point of contact, though Biden said he has spoken with all the Carter children.

He described a process underway “that will take a little time” but will result in a “major service in Washington, D.C.” for Carter, which Biden scheduled for Jan. 9.

Sometimes former presidents help with even the smallest details.

Jeffrey Engel, director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, recalled meeting with George H.W. Bush shortly after the former president revised the seating chart for his funeral.

“And I said, ‘Is that weird? You know, it’s your own death,’” Engel recalled. “And he said, ‘You know, you do it every three months. You kind of get used to it.’”

President Dwight Eisenhower, who commanded Allied troops during World War II before becoming a politician, wanted to be buried in an $80 government-issued casket. Apart from a glass seal that was added to the design, it was indistinguishable from the casket of any other solider.

Details of the processions also can reflect aspects of a president’s life. Ronald Reagan’s casket was carried up the west steps of the U.S. Capitol, which face his home state of California. When Gerald Ford died, his casket was brought through the House side of the building, a nod to his years as a lawmaker.

The job of carrying out presidential funerals falls to the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region, which includes 4,000 military and civilian personnel. The unit said in a statement that it “is privileged to provide this support on behalf of the nation.”

Presidential funerals can leave lasting marks on the American consciousness. One of the most memorable descriptions of George Washington — “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen” — came from a eulogy that was widely reprinted when the country’s first leader died.

After John F. Kennedy was assassinated, his son John Jr. was photographed saluting the casket. Kennedy's casket was transported down Pennsylvania Avenue on the same caisson that carried Abraham Lincoln after he was assassinated a century earlier, and a riderless horse was included in the procession.

Kennedy’s was the first presidential funeral to be widely televised.

“Technology has made mourning in a way more accessible, more democratic. More people have the opportunity to take a moment and reflect upon what this person meant,” Costello said. “And I think it also opens the door to more people being involved in the grieving process.”

In many democratic countries, the head of state and the head of government are two different people. The United States combines both roles, ceremonial and chief executive, into the office of the presidency.

“Since we have no national figure other than the president, we’ve essentially taken all the traditional weight and civic emotion that is put on to the death or the birth or a wedding for a sovereign or a king and placed it on the heads of the presidents,” Engel said. “And there aren’t that many of them, to be honest. So whenever one of them passes, it’s unusual and a big deal.”

He described funerals as a moment to remember “that we’re all in this together” and “this man was the president for all of us, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat."

However, in today’s divided politics, state funerals can produce awkward, even tense, moments.

During George H.W. Bush’s funeral in 2018, the audience included President Donald Trump. He shook hands with former President Barack Obama, his predecessor, but did not interact with Hillary Clinton, who he defeated in the 2016 election, or her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

“These funerals are always political,” Engel said. “Whatever happens in the Carter funeral is going to be political, frankly, whether people around the Carter family want it to be or not.”

Associated Press video journalist Nathan Ellgren contributed to this report.

FILE - The funeral procession for the late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the nation's youngest president struck down by an assassin's bullets, crossed the bridge leading to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Nov. 25, 1963. The procession slowly moves over the Memorial Bridge, with Lincoln memorial in background, monument to another slain president. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Members of the White House staff file past the body of John F. Kennedy, lying in repose in a closed, flag-draped coffin in the historic East Room of the Executive Mansion in Washington, Nov. 23, 1963. (AP Photo/Henry Burroughs, File)

FILE - Former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush, left, follow the casket of former President George H.W. Bush, carried out following a State Funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington, Dec. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - President Richard Nixon, center, speaks from a podium in front of the casket of Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, March 30, 1969. From left, front: former first lady Mamie Eisenhower, the widow; son John Eisenhower and his wife, Barbara Eisenhower; first lady Pat Nixon and daughter Tricia. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - This is an aerial view of the Capitol as thousands and thousands of people line up in freezing weather to file past the casket of John F. Kennedy in the rotunda where his body lies in state, Nov. 25, 1963. (AP Photo/Bob Schutz, File)

FILE - From left, President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton listen during a State Funeral at the National Cathedral, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington, for former President George H.W. Bush. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool, File)

FILE - The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a military honor guard into a State Funeral at the National Cathedral, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File)

FILE - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter smiles during a meeting with Sudanese officials at the national elections commission in Khartoum, Sudan, April 9, 2010. Carter was in the country to help monitor the elections. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

FILE - President Barack Obama, from left, stands with former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter at the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - The home of former President Jimmy Carter in Plains, Ga., is pictured Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

FILE - A general view outside St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C., during President John F. Kennedy's funeral, with flag-draped coffin in the foreground, Nov. 25, 1963. The president's brothers can be seen behind the casket. At left is Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), and at right entering limousine is Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. (AP Photo, File)