North Carolina Project Repurposing Trees Impacted by Hurricane Helene

Under a North Carolina project developed through Interagency Recovery Coordination (IRC), a team of federal, state, and local government, non-profits and faith-based organizations, thousands of trees damaged by the remnants of Hurricane Helene will be repurposed, FEMA announced on Wednesday.

To date, more than 320,000 pounds of wood have already been removed.

Stages of the project include clearing debris and fallen trees from the North Carolina Arboretum south of Asheville. The arboretum has walking trails, gardens, and an educational center that serve 600,000 visitors per year. Helene knocked down more than 5,000 trees across trails and roads in the 434-acre site in the Pisgah National Forest, making the park nonoperational.

The project is already sending logs to a staging area to be sorted based on potential use. The wood will then be distributed to residents and communities for firewood, furniture material, mulch, and more.

The IRC was established by the federal disaster recovery coordinator to meet challenges presented by Helene and ensure interagency coordination for disaster recovery in North Carolina. With debris removal underway at the arboretum, IRC partners have removed 65 truckloads of timber to date, allowing it to reopen to the public last week. Firewood splitting started this week. Instead of disposing the debris at a landfill or burning it, the project minimizes waste by recycling it.

Norma R. Houston, chief of staff to the UNC System Office, said the arboretum—a state entity under the jurisdiction of the University of North Carolina (UNC) System—would still be closed if not for the IRC.

USACE and contractors are pulling fallen trees out of the arboretum and sending 20-foot logs to a staging site selected by Buncombe County and the state. Larger logs will go for a special USFS program to supply local lumber mills with wood. Many lost a lot of inventory during the storm.

USDA teams of forest experts are sorting the wood based on intended purpose, including furniture building, home heating, and landscaping. American Red Cross and Mennonite Disaster Services provided equipment for firewood cutting, which is being handled by Team Rubicon volunteers trained to use chainsaws, log-splitters, and other equipment. Local churches will take the divided wood, kiln dry it as needed and provide burn-ready wood to residents.