North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Friday addressed local and regional officials in Asheville, focusing on Hurricane Helene recovery, wildfires, and funding for Western North Carolina’s future.
Stein attended the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners meeting. He said the General Assembly’s recent passage of a $524 million Helene-recovery spending measure is “nowhere near enough, but it is enough to get started.”
Helene left behind an estimated 126,000 damaged homes and $60 billion in damages, according to state officials.
More financial assistance is needed, Stein said.
“ In the weeks ahead, I'm gonna be sending to the General Assembly a second Helene budget focused on the ongoing housing needs, support for small businesses, revenue replacement for its local governments, and desperately needed wildfire prevention efforts.”
He added the state alone cannot afford to pay for recovery efforts.
“ I went to Washington and asked for about $19 billion in federal assistance,” Stein said. “Some of that money they've already appropriated and we just want to make sure our state gets an allocation, our fair share. That's about $7.5 billion and there's $11.5 billion in new funding. Funding predominantly to help with housing, but also with business and infrastructure support. The needs are just incredibly vast.”
Stein highlighted progress in the six months post-Helene.
“ More than 4,800 families are currently receiving temporary housing support,” Stein said. “More than 1,300 roads have been repaired and reopened by crew, contractors, and the NC Department of Transportation. More than 7.4 million cubic yards of debris has been cleared, including 5.3 million cubic yards of debris from public right-of-ways.”
Leftover debris from Helene, along with dry conditions last month, fueled massive wildfires in the region. At one point Stein said it was, “ The most threatening wildfire in the entire country.”
Hundreds had to evacuate their homes in Polk, Henderson, Swain, Buncombe, and Transylvania counties.
READ MORE HERE: ‘Disaster after disaster:’ On six month anniversary of Helene, wildfires burn through WNC
Stein said fire prevention is key.
“That means investing more in debris removal and land and waterway rehabilitation so we can reduce the risk of wildfires,” Stein said. “We also have to prepare for future flooding by prioritizing resilience in our floodplains and protecting our wetlands, which help absorb water flow. The actions we take now can save us tremendous loss and heartbreak in the future.”
