North and South Carolina are at risk for increased fire potential this fall and winter from Hurricane Helene’s damage. Dry timber and grass left behind after the storm could fuel fire starts. Joining FOX Weather to talk about the risk is Trisha Palmer, a warning coordination meteorologist for the NWS office in Greenville. 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Southern Appalachian communities still recovering from Helene are on alert as weather conditions this week are producing a multiday wildfire risk, according to the FOX Forecast Center.

The wildfire risk will peak each afternoon through Thursday as dry westerly winds will pick up across the Appalachians, producing gusts of up to 30 mph, and cause humidity levels to drop to around or below 30% across the region.

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These are particularly dangerous conditions, as the affected region has tens of thousands of trees that were downed by historic flash floods caused by Helene over a year ago, and these trees will serve as kindling for many years to come.

The FOX Forecast Center noted that the dry conditions will last through Friday, but the wildfire threat will decrease as the winds are expected to die down.

After the wildfire threat this week, next week will bring severe weather, including heavy rainfall, to the region.

Helene’s impact to be felt for ‘next several years’

As communities were still reeling months after Helene, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster emphasized the major role debris from Helene is playing in the wildfire spread.

“You’ve seen the movie ‘The Perfect Storm?’” McMaster asked. “Well, this might be the perfect fire because we have two events that have joined together, and one was the Hurricane Helene, (which) was not expected to be in this part of the state.”

Scott Phillips, the state forester of South Carolina, said that while debris on roadsides is providing fuel for the flames, more critically, it’s preventing firefighters from accessing key areas.

Rows of trees sit damaged or destroyed from Hurricane Helene.

(NC Forestry Service / FOX Weather)

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“Access is a major issue. With the downed fuels we have from Hurricane Helene, it will be a continuing issue for the next several years likely,” Phillips said. “It’s going to change the way we have to attack fires in the mountains of South Carolina and in the Hurricane Helene-impacted areas.”