More than 5.3 million cubic yards of debris have been removed from right of ways in western North Carolina since Helene. In January, debris removal from waterways began and in February, the State of North Carolina began taking requests for help with debris removal from private roads and bridges. On March 19, Governor Stein signed Part 1 of the Disaster Recovery Act of 2025, including an additional $20 million in funding for debris removal.
Fallen timber is of heightened concern in areas around Mitchell County where outsized amounts of natural debris are putting communities at risk from wildfires. Bakersville’s Fork Mountain Fire and Rescue is one group of many first responders focused on keeping communities safe from wildfires caused by excessive natural debris caused by Hurricane Helene. Half of the trees in Mitchell County were damaged or destroyed by Helene. This downed timber, as it dries, is presenting an extremely high risk of catastrophic wildfires, threatening lives, properties, infrastructure, and natural resources in Mitchell County and neighboring areas.
The department assisted the NC Forest Service with an outside fire in Spruce Pine in January, the area’s first woods fire in a Helene-damaged area. Creating awareness of local efforts, the department posted on social media, “It took our crew approximately 2 hours to cut a 250-foot fire line. This will definitely affect wildland firefighting in our area for the next 15 to 25 years.”
Mitchell County’s timber loss is estimated at $41,063,580 by the NC Forest Service. With 80% of the timber damage on private lands, families who rely on the sale of timber as a supplemental income source have been directly impacted, according to County Manager Allen Cook.
Conditions are complex and hazardous in harvesting downed trees, which are often jammed and under pressure, requiring additional resources and support for landowners and timber companies.
Effective wildfire mitigation measures, including incentivized timber harvest programs, controlled burns, and other forest management practices, are vital to reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires and supporting local economic recovery, according to Cook.
Careless debris burning is the leading cause of wildfires in North Carolina. The NC Forest Service says, “You are the best defense against wildfire,” asking individuals to use caution and follow fire prevention practices. Visit their website to find wildfire updates like ban alerts and recent wildfire activity.
Track recovery progress by visiting the WNC Recovery data dashboard, updated weekly by the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC).