News

Cities project $180 million in hurricane recovery cost

Area homeowners partnered with FEMA and nonprofit organizations to replace a bridge over Big Hungry River washed out by Helene. [HENDERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY]

By Bill Moss, Published: April 15, 2025

As any do-it-yourselfer knows, it takes time to trim or cut down a tree.

But, as with almost all other recovery work Hurricane Helene left in her wake, the magnitude of tree work demolishes previous assumptions.

Disaster recovery contractors have made 15,500 tree cuts — removals, leaners or hangers — as they continue the cleanup process, County Engineer Marcus Jones reported to the Henderson County Board of Commissioners last week.

“That is just a lot of cuts. That’s a shocking number,” he said.

Here are other updates on cleanup and recovery:

• Contractors have hauled off 504,974 cubic yards of debris, including 494,000 yards from road right-of-way, 1,500 yards from waterways and 7,700 yards from private property.
• The $3.7 million towns and cities in Henderson County have spent so far on repairs of buildings, roads, facilities and parks is a fraction of the total forecast of $180 million. Hendersonville has tallied up the highest figure of future need, at $163 million, mostly for work on water and sewer plants, pump stations and utility lines; the city has spent $3 million already. Other totals of amount spent and amount projected are Laurel Park, $25,000, $15 million, mostly roads and drainage; Fletcher, $297,200, $1.2 million, park repairs; Flat Rock, $137,100, park repairs, future expenses were not yet projected; Mills River, $32,131, $305,000, park repairs.
• Henderson County has received $16 million in revenues, including insurance proceeds, and spent just under $15 million for a net of $1 million so far. Total exposure is projected to be $61½ million, not including debris removal on right of way, private property or waterways. A FEMA contractor has received more than 800 applications for private property debris removal. There are now 26 debris removal crews working in the county.

On the good news front, Public Safety Director Jimmy Brissie reported that two bridges that washed out in the hard-hit Deep Gap-Big Hungry area of the county have been replaced.

“All the residents in that community worked collaboratively with FEMA, and FEMA was able to construct them a new bridge,” he said of Big Hungry homeowners. “This is another success story. I spoke to some of these residents during the wildfire, and their bridge had just been completed. They were very pleased with the support they received from FEMA in building that private bridge.”

After the Legislature’s latest Helene relief bill appropriated money for private roads and bridges, “that program is getting some momentum,” Brissie said. “For all those 580 folks in Henderson County that reported a private bridge or road issue to the county, we’re going to be communicating with them what that process looks like to get on the state’s list. We’ve shared our list with the state to kind of paint those needs for the Legislature. Now that that program is getting up and running, hopefully there will be some more assistance coming to folks with regards to their private bridges and roads.”