Along the winding mountainous backroads of western North Carolina, fallen timber from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene almost six months ago stretches as far as the eye can see.
It is a sight that greets Kristi Rodda every day. On Sept. 27, 2024, Helene delivered hurricane-strength winds, tornadoes, floods, landslides, and mudslides to western North Carolina. Days later, Rodda arrived as a volunteer, planning to stay for a few weeks and then return home to Missouri.
However, the cybersecurity industry professional decided to stay on and continues to volunteer for multiple local organizations that are contributing to the region’s long-term recovery.
On a recent March afternoon, while driving up to Roan Mountain, where a group of volunteers was helping a couple rebuild their homestead, Rodda remarked on the downed trees piled up on both sides of the road.
“Look at all of this,” Rodda told The Epoch Times. “It never seems to end. What we’re worried about is the wildfire risk if all of this isn’t removed by the spring or summer when it is dry and windy.
“Rebuilding and recovering from what happened in late September is challenging. Wildfires make it even more difficult for the communities and people here to fully get back on their feet.”
Federal, state, and local authorities share Rodda’s concerns.
In the months after Helene, the region has experienced flooding from torrential rains, making the ground even less stable and leading to more downed trees.
Currently, most of the state is in a drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report.
Warmer temperatures, gusty winds, dry conditions, and debris from Helene have combined to present fire threats this month. Multiple wildfires have scorched parts of western North Carolina and South Carolina.
An Old Fort, North Carolina, resident told The Epoch Times that he is worried about the threat of more storms and wildfires.
“We’re getting close to six months after Helene hit, and we still have missing roads,” he said. “People can’t get to their houses because bridges that cross creeks are gone, and there are still people living in tents, campers, sheds, and tiny homes.
“If we get wildfires that hit areas where people live, and if we get more storms before all of the debris is cleaned up, the rebuilding will keep taking longer and longer.”
Corey Davis, assistant state climatologist at the North Carolina State Climate Office, said residents cleaning up farmland, fields, and gardens pose the most significant risk for wildfires.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Forest Service announced that it is offering salvage timber contracts to remove fallen but commercially usable trees on up to 2,200 acres of the Pisgah National Forest.
If left to dry, the timber will create a wildfire risk, the agency stated.
The U.S. Forest Service has worked closely with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to coordinate the removal of downed trees around the trail.
“Hurricane Helene left catastrophic damage across a large portion of the forests in western North Carolina, with several thousands of acres of blown down trees in the Pisgah National Forests alone,” James Melonas, forest supervisor for the National Forests in North Carolina, said.
“The longer we wait, the greater the likelihood that a severe wildfire could threaten the Pisgah and our neighboring communities, and that’s simply not a risk we’re willing to take.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) manages the U.S. Forest Service. Earlier this month, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins surveyed the damage left by Helene and recent wildfires.
She attended a wildfire operational briefing and participated in a U.S. Forest Service roundtable with local leaders in Asheville, North Carolina.
“The U.S. Forest Service was well-prepared, assessing wildfire risks in advance and strategically positioning resources to respond quickly,” Rollins said. “Thanks to their efforts, they were able to contain the fires swiftly.
“The USDA continues to work closely with state and local agencies, as well as first responders, to support these communities and restore the public lands that so many rural residents depend on.”
Rollins said the U.S. Forest Service is prepared for an active fire season in the South and will continue to work closely with its partners to respond effectively.
The North Carolina Forest Service has warned residents about an enhanced risk of wildfires in the coming weeks and months.
A drought can lead to a higher chance of fires igniting because of a lack of moisture. The spring wildfire season runs through May, and another season arrives in the summer.
North Carolina Forest Service Public Information Officer Philip Jackson noted that about half of fires across the state are started when residents burn debris or other items in their backyard.
“With 99 percent of our fires being caused by human activity, it means a majority of our fires are avoidable if folks can just take extra precautions and be careful with whatever they’re doing that might involve fire,” Jackson said.
For now, most of the wildfires in North Carolina are contained.
“It’s important to note that just because we say a fire is contained, that doesn’t mean it’s out, and some firefighters will continue to patrol the fire’s containment lines and address any threats to that containment,” a U.S. Forest Service spokesperson said.
Zachary O’Donnell coordinates controlled burns for the Southern Blue Ridge Prescribed Burn Association.
When dried piles of trees ignite, controlled fire risks become uncontrolled, he said.
“When you have a state that is growing at such a rapid pace as North Carolina, you have more people, you have more people recreating, [and] you’re going to have more human-caused wildfires,” O’Donnell said.
“Most people, when they think of natural disasters in North Carolina, they’re thinking tropical weather; they’re thinking the stray winter storm that we’ve experienced recently. But they don’t think of the wildfires.”
