The most recent Helene relief package included $15 million to bolster the N.C. Forest Service's efforts to fight wildfires in Western North Carolina.
House Bill 1012, which Gov. Josh Stein signed into law in late June, provides the funds for wildfire assets and preparedness, as well as contract firefighters and equipment.
Helene destroyed more than 821,000 acres of Western North Carolina timber when its high winds and heavy rains swept through the mountains last September.
Those downed trees have already made it more difficult for local officials to fight wildfires, including during this spring's Black Cove and Deep Wood fires that burned around the Green River in Polk County.
But the major concern for N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler and others is the fuel all of those trees could provide for blazes in the future.
"Every little bit is going to help, and God forbid that we have a big drought this summer and fall with all the fuel we have on the ground," Troxler told the NC Newsroom after the July Council of State Meeting.
The N.C. Forest Service, which is tasked with fighting wildfires, is a division of the Department of Agriculture.
During an April Council of State meeting, Troxler said the Forest Service had more than 100 open jobs largely due to salaries that don't pay enough and that its employees are flying outdated helicopters, WRAL reported.
Part of the $15 million will be used to pay for contract firefighters and equipment in the event of a large fire.
"We do contract some private crews, especially on large fires, and we have to bring in personnel from other states. A lot of times, I have to bring them in from the West Coast. So it's very, very expensive when that happens," Troxler said.
Paying those contract crews is not considered budgetary, Troxler added, so the Forest Service needs a special provision to pay those crews. That's where the funding in House Bill 1012 comes in.
During 2016's very active fire season, North Carolina spent more than $20 million paying for contract firefighting crews from more than 40 states, Troxler told a legislative committee in March.
Troxler was clear with legislators at that March committee meeting: With all of the debris on the ground, the coming wildfire seasons could be worse than 2016.
"We are not prepared to handle a massive wildfire situation, especially in the mountains of North Carolina. Helene put a tremendous load of fuel on the ground — trees, limbs. It's laying there," Troxler said, adding that it will likely take three years for that material to rot enough that it doesn't add to fire danger.
Waiting for helicopter funds
Troxler reiterated some of those concerns this month, saying it is important to replace two aging helicopters that don't fly frequently. In fact, Troxler told legislators in March, they are stationed side-by-side in a hangar and the parts from one are used to keep the other one flying.
"I'm a little bit leery to get in those helicopters with used parts on them, just quite frankly, but that's where we are," Troxler said.
Being unable to use those helicopters will make it harder to fight fires in a post-Helene landscape, Troxler said.
"In the mountains, it's hard to get to these places with the roads closed so we need aerial assets and bulldozers to fight the fires," Troxler said.
He expressed hope that when the General Assembly returns from a summer break, it will help fund the replacement helicopters. Even if the legislature doesn't pass a full budget, Troxler said, the funds could come in a mini-budget.
The fall fire season begins in October and lasts until December.
