Homestead Rescue Season 13 Premiere: Raney Family Rebuilds After Hurricane Helene + Their Most Jaw-Dropping Homestead Transformations

Get ready, homestead fans — Homestead Rescue is back! Season 13 is set to kick off September 23, 2025, and this time the Raney family is taking things closer to home.

This season, the spotlight shifts to a story that’s deeply personal: the Raneys rebuilding a fourth‑generation homestead that was wiped out by Hurricane Helene. A 100‑year‑old farmhouse, passed down through generations, was reduced to rubble in a single storm. For the Raneys, this isn’t just another project — it’s about restoring a family’s legacy and proving that resilience runs deep.

But before we look ahead, it’s worth remembering that the Raneys themselves have faced the same kind of battles they help others overcome. In 2019, just ahead of the Alaskan winter season (which typically sets in from late October through March), they found their own homestead in disrepair. Beetle kill had ravaged their only access route, cutting them off from supplies and forcing them into a race against time. Their solution was bold: constructing a steel tram before the deep freeze of winter made the property unreachable. It was one of the clearest reminders that even the Raneys — with all their experience — are not immune to nature’s hardships.

Rebuilding the Raney Homestead

This storyline aired in 2019 as part of Season 5, Episode 5 (“Quake on the Forty”), and it remains one of the most dramatic glimpses into the Raneys’ own survival. Marty openly admitted he had spent much of the year helping other homesteaders, only to return home and find his own property unprepared for the brutal Alaskan winter. By mid‑September the temperatures were already plunging and the ground was freezing. Their 40‑acre spread north of Wasilla had no firewood stacked, no reliable water system, and — most critically — no safe access.

The family’s lifeline, a tram spanning a glacial river, was collapsing. The two spruce trees anchoring the cables had both succumbed to beetle kill, part of an infestation that wiped out nearly a million acres of trees across Alaska that year. Losing them meant losing the only route for hauling supplies. Attempting to raft gear across the river nearly turned deadly in the frigid current. Recognizing the danger, Marty and Matt salvaged two decommissioned ski‑lift towers from the Alyeska Resort. They cut six‑foot foundations into the frozen ground, planted the 20‑foot steel towers, and anchored them with dead‑man supports. With new cabling, the tram was reborn — permanent, beetle‑proof, and strong enough to last for generations.

While the men rebuilt access, Misty worked to develop a mountain spring into a sustainable water source before deep winter froze it solid. Molly and local neighbors constructed an insulated Arctic entry on the cabin to conserve precious heat. At the same time, Marty and Matt raced against the snow to harvest and stack roughly four tons of firewood — the minimum needed to last through the seven‑month winter. The sequence showed the Raneys in a rare light: vulnerable, under‑resourced, but unwilling to give in. It was survival in its purest form — the Raneys rescuing themselves.

Marty’s Water Crisis

Another challenge came with Season 9, Episode 6 (“Marty’s Water Crisis,” aired November 28, 2021). Even with years of expertise, the Raneys faced the same problem as many homesteaders they help: unreliable water. Marty showed viewers exactly what they were up against — runoff laced with everything from beaver and moose droppings to bear and fox scat, compared to the crystal‑clear spring the family trusted for years. He used a brand‑new glove just to wipe down the barrel spout, trying to keep things sanitary as they hauled water by hand — 110 gallons at a time, up 700–800 feet of softening snow trail. At one point the sled tipped, dumping the load into rotten snow, forcing him to start over. It was “do it again or go without.”

The struggle underscored how fragile their setup was. An electric pump helped move water into a 300‑gallon holding tank, but the process meant multiple trips a week — unsustainable if the spring ever froze solid. The breakthrough came when Molly reminded Marty of a small pipe she’d sunk into a mountainside seep the previous fall. When they checked, clear water was still flowing. That discovery gave the Raneys a reliable spring right on the mountain. The episode underscored that for the Raneys, just like the families they rescue, water is life — and persistence is the only guarantee.

Raney Family’s Most Jaw‑Dropping Transformations

Coming off their own hard‑won survival story in Alaska, the Raneys didn’t slow down. In the seasons that followed, they carried that same determination into rescues that were as much about solving human problems as fixing broken structures. These are just a few of the instances: they gave families breathing room with new cabins when six people were crammed into one house, turned a compost pile that lured in bears into a secure system, and transformed sewage-plagued houses back into safe homes with running water. These transformations proved that the grit they used on their own property could be shared — restoring health, safety, and dignity to homesteads on the brink.

(S8E2 — “Mississippi Mayhem,” aired June 24, 2021 — Hills family)

The Hills weren’t just overwhelmed — they were outnumbered. Six adults crammed into one house, goats named Houdini slipping out of flimsy gates, chickens roaming wherever they pleased, and a yard that turned into a stagnant pond every time it rained. Marty wasn’t buying that it was “just rain,” either; the smell and the sheen said leak, which meant germs and heat would brew a cesspool by summer.
What the Raneys did: They transformed the wrecked camper into a utility trailer for hauling materials (about $95 in plywood and lumber). Misty dried the property with a drainage plan, then gave the goats a proper milking/breeding barn (about $850 in paint, doors, and recycled lumber) so animals weren’t wading through muck. For food, the crew added a greenhouse and fenced garden system with raised beds (about $400 in fencing and plants). And because space was tearing the family apart, the team worked with Graceland Homes to bring in two small cabins (hauled ~800 miles) so the oldest kids had dignified housing on day one. The vibe went from “bomb went off” to “we can breathe again.”

(S9E2 — “Green Mountain Gurus,” aired October 24, 2021 — Bowers family, Vermont)

Mark and Laura Bowers chased a self‑reliant life on a steep 31‑acre hillside in Vermont. Laura, a grad student in microbiology when they met, and Mark had the vision: a cob house, food forest, kids growing up close to the land. But the reality? No access across a stream to their half‑built home, no running water, and an open compost that was basically ringing the dinner bell for bears. They’d been packing buckets from the creek since 2016.
What the Raneys did: First, they made wildlife stop showing up. Using river rock, concrete, and reclaimed bridge planks, they built a bear‑proof enclosed composter for just $25. For food security, Misty paired a straw‑bale garden and subterranean greenhouse (logs free, second‑hand windows, drainage pipes, plants — about $275 total) that uses steady ground temps for year‑round crops. Inside, Marty pushed the perpetual “we’ll get to it” into “done,” framing and finishing living space with a new roof, walls, and insulation (about $1,225 in materials). With a little over $1,200 invested in the full renovation, the Raneys capped it off by adding a pressurized water system. The payoff came when Laura finally turned the tap and cold mountain water actually ran. Big dreams stayed big, but the basics finally worked.

(S11E9 — “All My Stresses Live in Texas,” aired January 21, 2024 — Kevens family)

Shaina and Ryan’s blended family had heart — and a house that had given up. A freeze burst the plumbing, sewage odors lingered, floors sagged, insulation failed, and the kids were stacked in an RV. Chickens huddled in dog kennels, and every big Texas wind (up to 70 mph) shredded their DIY greenhouse. Still, Shaina had been under the house, pulling walls, fixing pipes — the grit was there.
What the Raneys did: They wrapped the chickens in a wind‑proof coop complex built off a shipping container, with a covered run and a large attached greenhouse (about $550 in lumber and plexiglass) for year‑round crops. Inside the home, the crew reinsulated, repaired floors and walls, fixed the septic, and brought back hot and cold running water (about $1,150 in flooring, drywall, and pipes). The reveal wasn’t just pretty; it meant the girls could leave the RV that night and sleep in safe, separate bedrooms. Shaina walked away with more than a house — she had proof she could do hard things.

From battling beetle kill in Alaska to rescuing families from flooding fields, bear invasions, and collapsed homes across the country, the Raneys’ journey shows the grit and ingenuity that define Homestead Rescue. Season 13’s premiere on September 23, 2025, is set to build on these unforgettable moments — and push the family’s skills to the ultimate test.