In the seven months since Hurricane Helene ravaged the mountains and valleys of Western North Carolina, there’s been one constant thought rolling through the mind of Guy Smith. 

“In memorializing Helene’s savagery, the agony it caused, the grief and loss, but also the resilience and charity,” Smith said.

The Town of Canton is currently wrestling with one of the ugliest budget conundrums in decades due to a combination of natural and human-caused disasters, the general unsustainability of the American health care coverage system and a colossal mistake by a contracted service provider.  

By this point, more than six months after Hurricane Helene barreled through Western North Carolina, it’s a common sight. Heavy machinery moving in and around waterways, working to remove debris that choked rivers and streams during extreme flooding caused by the storm. 

Local elected leaders and farmers, along with state and federal officials, gathered April 14 over bacon and eggs to tackle twin challenges facing Western North Carolina’s agricultural sector — ongoing recovery from Hurricane Helene and the accelerating loss of prime farmland. 

Equipment and personnel have arrived in Haywood County to begin removing debris at 22 sites along the Pigeon River. 

The initial focus of the debris removal will be on things like downed trees, appliances and vehicles that, if dislodged and sent downstream, could cause further catastrophic damage.

Limited resources and tricky topography already pose challenges. Now those problems have been exacerbated.

When Chris and Sara Evensen bought their home off Elk Mountain Scenic Highway in 2018, they felt like they’d hit the natural beauty jackpot: a nice home on two acres, ensconced in a gorgeous hardwood forest. 

Early Tuesday morning. Sitting in the dentist chair, I stared blankly out onto the parking lot, only to then notice the bustling traffic on nearby U.S. 276. It was at that moment when the nice dental hygienist asked if a date and time in mid-September 2025 would be ideal for my next teeth cleaning.  

The U.S. Forest Service has reopened more trails and roads throughout areas of the Pisgah National Forest’s Appalachian Ranger District in Haywood, Madison, Buncombe, Yancey, Mitchell and Avery counties following the damage caused by Hurricane Helene. 

Officials at all levels of government, including new U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, visited the construction area along I-40 near the Tennessee border to take a look at progress and renew the pledge to get the necessary repairs done as quickly and safely as possible. 

With billions in damages, limited state aid and considerable uncertainty surrounding federal funding, local officials are still pushing for streamlined disaster response to rebuild their communities months after Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina.