- Helene forced a North Carolina restaurant owner to leave his home. He just lost his 'Cabin of Hope' in recent wildfires
- Carolina wildfires grow, evacuation orders still in effect
- Helene forced a North Carolina restaurant owner to leave his home. He just lost his 'Cabin of Hope' in recent wildfires
- Severe weather likely in the Carolinas on Monday
- 3 dead, flash floods overwhelm South Texas, with some areas receiving more than 12 inches of rain
Brad Panovich links NC wildfires to Helene's aftermath in the mountains
Six months after Helene’s devastation, western North Carolina is facing a new challenge from the storm: Rapidly growing wildfires.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As wildfires continue to spread in western North Carolina, Weather Impact Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich emphasized the impact of Hurricane Helene, which created prime conditions for wildfires.
Thursday marked six months since Helene caused widespread devastation in the Carolinas, including catastrophic flooding and landslides in the mountains. In an interview on WCNC+, Panovich noted how Helene’s destruction in the mountains set the stage for the fires.
“Over 900,000 acres of timber were destroyed. These are old trees and they’re laying all over the place. When those trees fell, they dry out and they become fuel for fire,” Panovich said. “The other thing people don’t think about, these trees are still down, blocking fire roads and access to these areas. So the firefighters that would normally fight on the ground, they can’t get up there, it’s very dangerous for them.”
Panovich noted how a firefighter was injured when they were trapped under a fallen tree.
“We call those widowmakers, the trees that fall down and lean on another tree,” Panovich said. “So we saw why that DC-10 was there, it’s because they can’t get to those areas by foot.”
Panovich referenced a DC-10 tanker that was spotted dumping fire retardant on the Black Cove Complex Fire in Polk County. The plane dropped nearly 10,000 gallons of fire retardant in a single drop. The plane that was in the area on Wednesday made the trip up from Lake City, Florida. It was accompanied by a lead plane due to poor visibility caused by smoke.
“It’s just crazy to see this because that plane is so large,” Panovich said.
Panovich said these fires should be a wake-up call for anyone who thinks the impacts of Helene aren’t being felt in western North Carolina.
“The wildfires and Helene, they’re not indirectly related, they’re directly related to each other,” Panovich said. “We still have a long way to go to recover up there.”
With spring and summer tourism season upon us, Panovich urged everyone to take a trip to the mountains so they can help support small businesses still reeling from the storm.
“Help them out,” he said. “They need that revenue.”