A version of the following article appeared in the September 30, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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Editor’s note: Two years after Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, recovery is still unfolding across the region. In “Helene: Road to Recovery,” a five-part series, The Charlotte Ledger examines where that recovery stands today — from rebuilding communities, roads and forests to the storm’s lasting effects on healthcare and wildlife — and the work that remains. So far, we’ve taken a look at:
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WNC forest recovery funds are finally flowing. But landowners say the process for getting them are hard to navigate, forcing tough decisions.
Debris from fallen trees in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene blocked access on the Newberry Creek Road Bridge on the Grandfather Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest. (Photo courtesy of Kristian Jackson)
by Ashley Fahey
Chris Allen is facing a tough choice: Sell his 177 acres of forestland atop Elk Mountain or spend up to $1M clearing it without a guarantee of reimbursement.
Allen, who bought the land in 2017 to save it from getting cleared by a developer, has already spent nearly $100,000 in labor and equipment to clear the most immediate hazards after Hurricane Helene blew down trees on much of his land. He’s frustrated by how difficult it’s been to get even basic information about what he needs to be eligible for reimbursement for costs he’s fronting.
“I don’t think I can invest the money that the property needs to not cause risk and possible harm to the neighbors above it and everything else,” Allen said. “I want to steward this forest back to health. But there’s no way for me to really take care of this land properly in the state that it’s in.”
Allen is one of countless landowners in Western North Carolina still trying to pick up the pieces — literally — left behind two years after Helene damaged 822,000 acres of North Carolina forestland in its destructive path.
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