Under a mountainside that had slipped again and again, residents of Thistle Ridge faced a grim reality — unstable ground, blocked roads and no clear path forward. 

For more than four years, bureaucratic delays and shifting priorities left a vital infrastructure fix stalled while families worried their homes could be lost and emergency access cut off. Then, Rep. Mark Pless took up their cause. 

Gov. Josh Stein announced nearly $50 million in grants to support local governments in western North Carolina in their Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. The grants, which are administered by the Office of State Budget and Management, provide critical funding to repair, renovate, or replace storm-damaged infrastructure. 

In 2025, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality supported communities recovering from Hurricane Helene, took actions to address PFAS contamination and continued to protect the state’s natural resources for the health and prosperity of all North Carolinians, according to a lengthy DEQ press release. 

The monumental task of helping communities recover from Helene, while rebuilding in a way that makes them more resilient to future storms, played a central role in the department’s actions last year.  

If there were an award for being hardest to find while holding an important job, Michael Whatley would have no competition, because he’s the only entry.

President Donald Trump named Whatley Western North Carolina’s hurricane recovery czar at a Jan. 24 briefing, saying he wanted Whatley in charge of making sure “everything goes well.” Trump praised Whatley’s work and assured folks Whatley would be the one to fix it. 

Western North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene showed clearly that resilience is built not just by government plans on paper but by people and organizations rooted in community and commitment.

Three regional philanthropy leaders — Dogwood Health Trust, Mountain Projects and The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina — stood at the center of that response, stepping beyond missions and acting as frontline partners in relief, recovery and stability when formal systems lagged or gaps emerged. 

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

— Benjamin Franklin (probably)

When Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, an oft repeated theme among elected and civic leaders was that the area would be built back better.

Nearly 15 months after Hurricane Helene tore through rural Appalachia, North Carolina recovery officials said in a Dec. 15 meeting and press conference that federal recovery programs meant to help communities rebuild after $60 billion in damages are still slowing them down. 

Michael Whatley, appointed by President Donald Trump as Helene recovery czar in January, has spoken to the head of the governor’s recovery task force only once this year. 

When Drake Fowler returned to the North Carolina Arboretum after Hurricane Helene, the extent of the damage broke his heart. 

“We lost 10,000 trees over 80 acres,” he said.

However, as the initial shock of grief subsided, Fowler, the arboretum’s executive director, considered how to find opportunity amid destruction.

Nineteen new small business recovery projects in Western North Carolina have been awarded grants totaling $13.8 million through the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program. 

The U.S. Department of Labor has released additional funds to help North Carolinians get back to work in areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

The new funds, totaling $4 million, represent the remaining portion of a $10 million Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grant that the DOL initially awarded to North Carolina in 2024 in the wake of Helene.