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Tag: mountain

  • Data disproves ‘Black-on-white violence’ fear mongering following train stabbing

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    After a Ukrainian woman who fled war in her home country was stabbed to death on a commuter train in North Carolina, the alarming act of violence ignited bitter racial and political rhetoric about crime victims and perpetrators in America.

    What You Need To Know

    • After a Ukrainian woman allegedly was stabbed by a Black man on a train in Charlotte, claims of widespread “Black-on-white-crime” spread online 

    • But white offenders were involved in over half of violent victimizations of white people between 2017 and 2021, while Black offenders were involved in about 15%, according to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics

    • And of 6 million violent incidents reported by law enforcement in the 2023 National Criminal Victimization Survey, over 3.5 million involved a white victim; white offenders were involved in more than half of those crimes, while only one-tenth involved Black offenders


    The fatal attack last month, in which the alleged perpetrator was identified as a Black man, evoked such visceral reactions partly because it was caught on surveillance video that went viral online. On Tuesday, North Carolina’s legislature passed a criminal justice package named after the victim to limit defendants’ eligibility for bail and to encourage them to undergo mental health evaluations.

    Rhetoric about the attack, including claims about “Black-on-white-crime,” has spread from social media and broadcast airwaves to the halls of Congress and the White House. Some of it leverages cherry-picked cases and ill-framed crime statistics to reproduce age-old harmful narratives about Black criminality and threats to white populations.

    It comes at a time when Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have been hyping the rhetoric as part of a focus on cities with reputations of violence. But despite the rhetoric, the data shows that in most U.S. communities, victims of violence and offenders are usually the same race or ethnicity.

    Violent incidents where the offenders and the victims are of different races are “extremely uncommon,” said Charis Kubrin, a criminology professor at the University of California Irvine. It is “the exception rather than the rule.”

    People are more likely to be victimized by people they know and interact with regularly in their social sphere, she added.

    The most recent breakdown of federal crime statistics bears that out. Black offenders were involved in about 15% of violent victimizations of white people between 2017 and 2021, according to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, which publishes multiyear crime trend reports every few years. White offenders were involved in over half of violence against other white people, the statistics show.

    The report showed similar trends when it came to violent crimes committed against Black victims. White offenders were involved in about 12% those crimes against Black people, while Black offenders were involved in 60% of violence against other Black people.

    What happened in Charlotte and the rhetoric around it

    The Aug. 22 killing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska became a flashpoint in online discussions about crime victims and race after surveillance video of the attack in Charlotte, North Carolina, circulated widely online.

    Zarutska was knifed to death on the city’s Lynx Blue Line light rail. Footage showed the alleged attacker pacing through the train and spreading the woman’s blood on the floors of the train car.

    Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was found dead after a stabbing on Charlotte’s light rail.

    Decarlos Brown Jr., a Black man, has been charged with first-degree murder and faces federal charges of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.

    Conservative activists, including Trump political ally Charlie Kirk, were quick to call out what they decried as a double-standard in reporting on such crimes by the mainstream media. Kirk once said on his popular podcast, “prowling Blacks go around for fun to target white people.”

    Speaking about the Charlotte attack, Kirk said: “If a random white person on a subway took out a knife and stabbed a Black girl senselessly to death, there would be massive media coverage.”

    “There would be policy changes. … We saw this in George Floyd,” the 31-year-old said on his podcast a day before he was killed on a Utah university campus.

    North Carolina Republicans also weighed in, some blaming what they called Democrats’ “woke policies” on crime, including cashless bail, as the reason presumably dangerous people like Zarutska’s alleged attacker were roaming free to pose threats to the public.

    The North Carolina chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group that primarily advocates against anti-Muslim sentiments, said: “We also condemn those using this crime to resurrect racist talking points about the Black community.”

    “This selective outrage is dangerous, hypocritical, and racially motivated, especially given that white supremacists fall silent about other stabbings, mass shootings, hate crimes, financial crimes, rapes and various other misconduct committed by people of all races and backgrounds,” the group said in a statement.

    Comparing Black-on-white crime and white-on-Black crime

    Some criminologists caution against relying on raw count crime numbers relating to the race of victims and offenders because population size matters. Non-Hispanic Black people made up roughly 13% of the U.S. population in 2024, according census estimates. Non-Hispanic white people make up the largest racial group in the U.S. — an estimated 56% of the total population in 2024 — so “there are just more white people that could be potential offenders,” Kubrin said.

    Black-on-white and white-on-Black violence are both extremely rare, she added.

    The National Criminal Victimization Survey conducted in 2023 by the Justice Department gathered data on nearly 6 million violent incidents reported by law enforcement. Their findings show over 3.5 million involved a white victim; white offenders were involved in more than half of those crimes, while only one-tenth involved Black offenders.

    When a killing or violent interaction between people of different races grabs the headlines and social media — especially if there is video — it is tempting to use that as confirmation of preconceived notions that Black-on-white crime or vice-versa are suddenly spiking, Kubrin said. But in reality, they make up a small share of hundreds of thousands of violent crimes mostly involving people of the same race, she said.

    Brett Tolman, executive director of Right on Crime, a conservative criminal justice group, thinks people should not focus on race but rather where violent crimes are happening the most. Even if data shows crime has been on a downward trend, that can be of little comfort if people constantly feel unsafe, he said.

    “Let’s start making it about communities that want to feel safe,” Tolman said. “I hear from just as many that are living in inner cities, regardless of their politics, that they want safety and security.”

    Examining Black-on-Black crime

    Black-on-Black crime is a flawed premise, according to criminologists, because people of all racial groups experience crime due to their social networks and proximity to each other.

    But in discussions about systemic racism in policing and the criminal justice system, it’s frequently argued that Black-on-Black crime should be the chief concern of Black communities — more than police brutality or racial profiling — because homicide has been a leading cause of death among Black men.

    Even as crime rates have fallen dramatically for white and Black populations over time, misinformed rhetoric around crime and violence perpetuates racialized narratives on the issues, said Trymaine Lee, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who recently published a book about gun violence, “A Thousand Ways to Die.”

    “When you have a nation so bound by violence as the United States, it’s only a matter of time that that binding snaps and lashes at us all,” he said, adding that violence “isn’t the domain of Black Americans alone.”

    “Even though the politics of the moment might suggest differently, this is a stark reminder that no American is out of reach of American violence.”

     

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    Associated Press

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  • How western N.C.’s tourist dependent businesses are surviving after Helene

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    OLD FORT, N.C. (AP) — Morning mist is still burning off the surrounding mountains when they appear: Small groups of helmeted riders on one-wheeled, skateboard-like contraptions, navigating the pitched streets, past the 30-foot granite Arrowhead Monument on the town square.

    What You Need To Know

    • Old Fort, like many other towns in western North Carolina, have reopened since Helene but are still struggling to get the word out to tourists 

    • Old Fort has been transitioning to a tourism based economy since furniture manufacturer Ethan Allen, one of the town’s largest employers, laid off more than 300 people in 2019 

    • Biking trails became one of the town’s biggest draws, but flooding from Helene washed many of them away and damaged nearby businesses like Old Fort Bike Shop which suffered $150k in uninsured losses 

    • Tourism has been slowed down by the 35 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway that sit closed for repairs and aren’t slated to reopen until fall 2026


    They are among the 400 or so people converging on this Blue Ridge foothills town for FloatLife Fest, which bills itself as “the ORIGINAL and LONGEST RUNNING” gathering dedicated to motorized Onewheel boards. Swelling Old Fort’s normal population by half, the mid-September festival is injecting much needed money and hope into a town still recovering a year after it was inundated by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

    “We should definitely come back again,” says Jess Jones, a 34-year-old marine biologist from Edinburgh, Scotland. “The vibe and the welcome that we got there was really nice.”

    That the festival occurred at all is a tribute to the area’s natural beauty, and the resilience of its people.

    Signs of progress are mixed with still-visible scars from Helene in this town about 24 miles (39 kilometers) east of Asheville. Most of Old Fort’s shops have reopened, even as workers continue clawing away at a debris pile downtown and some homes remain unlivable.

    Like other businesspeople in this tourist-dependent mountain region, bike shop owner Chad Schoenauer has been banking on a strong fall leaf-peeping season to help get him back on track after Helene. But many seem to assume Old Fort is still a wasteland.

    “‘Oh, I didn’t know that you were open,’” he says is a typical reaction.

    Helene’s floods and landslides interrupt outdoor tourism makeover

    When Helene swept through, Old Fort was well on its way to remaking itself as an outdoor destination, especially after furniture manufacturer Ethan Allen laid off 325 workers when it converted its factory there into a distribution center in 2019.

    “When the Ethan Allen layoff happened, local leaders started coming together and saying, `How do we use these beautiful natural assets that we have to diversify the manufacturing economy?’” says Kim Effler, president and CEO of the McDowell Chamber of Commerce.

    Named for a Revolutionary War-era stockade, the town decided to become a world-class destination for hiking, running, horseback riding and, most notably, mountain biking.

    “We have a red clay that makes some of the best trails in the country,” FloatLife founder Justyn Thompson says. “The trails are epic.”

    In 2021, the G5 Trail Collective — a program led by the nonprofit Camp Grier outdoors complex — got the U.S. Forest Service to agree to 42 miles (68 kilometers) of new multi-purpose trails. The effort began paying dividends almost immediately.

    “For every trail that we were able to open, we saw a new business open up in town,” says Jason McDougald, the camp’s executive director.

    The collective had just completed the 21st mile (34th kilometer) of trail when Helene, in Schoenauer’s words, hit “the reset button” by washing away trails and damaging businesses.

    When the storm blew through on Sept. 27, 2024, the Catawba River converged with the normally placid Mill Creek, leaving much of downtown under several feet of muddy water.

    Schoenauer, who opened his Old Fort Bike Shop in 2021, says it took two days before he could make it to town to assess damage to the business housed in a refurbished 1901 former general store.

    “I was numb coming all the way here,” he says. “And as soon as I got off the exit, I started crying.”

    The water rose more than 3 feet (1 meter) inside the shop, leaving behind a 10-inch (25-centimeter) layer of reddish-brown mud. The beautiful heart pine floors buckled.

    Schoenauer says he suffered about $150,000 in uninsured losses.

    At the Foothills Watershed mountain biking complex along the Catawba, the storm took 48 large shade trees and an 18,000-square-foot (1,672-square-meter) track built with banks and jumps.

    “We had a septic field, a brand-new constructed septic field for the business that was destroyed,” says Casey McKissick, who spent the last three years developing the bike park. “Never been used; not even turned on yet. And it all went right down the river.”

    McKissick says the business didn’t have flood insurance because it was too costly, and the threat of a catastrophic event seemed too remote.

    The damage amounted to $150,000. Worse yet was the loss of eight months of business, including last year’s foliage season.

    “We lost that really critical fourth quarter of the year, which is a beautiful fall,” McKissick says.

    Blue Ridge Parkway closure slows visitors’ return

    Gov. Josh Stein recently announced that travelers had spent a record $36.7 billion in the state last year. But that boom eluded the counties worst hit by Helene.

    Visitor spending in Buncombe County — home to Asheville — was down nearly 11% last year compared to 2023, according to the state Department of Commerce.

    In McDowell, tourist spending dropped nearly 3% in that same period. Effler says this June and July, foot traffic at the county’s largest visitor center was down 50% from last year.

    She blames much of that on damage to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is consistently one of the most-visited of the national parks. About 35 miles (56 kilometers) of the North Carolina route — including long stretches in McDowell County — aren’t slated to reopen until fall 2026.

    McDougald says nearly every trail in the Old Fort complex was damaged, with landslides taking out “300-foot sections of trail at a time.”

    They’ve managed to reopen about 30 miles (48 kilometers) of trail, but he says about that many miles remain closed.

    Schoenauer reopened his shop in December, but traffic was down by about two-thirds this summer.

    “My business, revenue-wise, has shifted more to the repair side,” he says. “People trying to still recreate, but use the bike that they have just to keep it going and have some fun.”

    The Watershed complex opened in June, but without the planned riverfront gazebo and performance stage. And they’ve moved the bike jumps to higher ground.

    “It’s changed our way of looking at the floodplain, for sure,” McKissick says.

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    Associated Press

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  • How juvenile center says it grew stronger after Helene

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    RALEIGH, N.C. — Inmates were displaced from several state prisons across western North Carolina as a result of the damage caused by Helene. The storm not only affected the region’s adult prisons, but it also impacted its only youth development center.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Western Area Juvenile and Assessment Center is the only facility that services the Asheville community and 28 other counties

    • The facility was forced to shut down without power and water to continue operations during Helene

    • Helene humbled the staff at Western Area Juvenile and Assessment Center, but it challenged them to grow as individuals and as an agency


    Many communities across the region were forced to rebuild following the significant devastation caused by Helene last September and for the state’s criminal justice system, it revealed where the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections and the Department of Public Safety needed to improve response efforts to natural disasters.

    The Western Area Juvenile and Assessment Center is the only facility that services the Asheville community and 28 other counties.

    The North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s website says juvenile crisis and assessment centers offer evidenced-based crisis assessment and mental health residential services for youth ages 10-17. During their stay at-risk youth are provided with recommendations for the most suitable behavioral interventions.

    Both boys and girls are housed at the facility and typically stay between 14 and 45 days to receive comprehensive evaluations by both licensed psychologists and clinical case managers. 

    The Western Area Juvenile and Assessment Center first opened in October 2016.

    Nearly a decade later, when Helene hit the area last year, the facility was forced to shut down without power and water to continue operations.

    “Even after our youth were out of here and we could take a deep breath, it hit all of us,” said Jennifer Morgan, Asheville operations manager for Methodist Home for Children said in an interview with Spectrum News 1. “Youth were using the water that we had here, like jugs of water, to be able to flush the toilet.”

    Owned by the Methodist Home for Children, the facility partners with NCDPS’s Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The division’s Juvenile Facility Operations section maintains both juvenile detention centers and youth development centers.

    The Methodist Home for Children currently provides residential care and services for youth across 16 locations statewide.

    “We had two staff that were here with our youth, but other staff when the storm hit, just came here because they knew our kids are here 24/7,” Morgan said.

    Youth brought to the facility under secure custody are housed there for as long as a court order is in place. Morgan said Western Area did have one secure custody youth occupying one of its beds at the time of the storm.

    “Under normal circumstances, we cannot transport those youth,” Morgan said. “They’re brought here shackled and chained, and they leave in those as well, but because of the circumstances, what was more important was this kid’s safety.”

    Morgan said after a few days youth housed in the facility were transferred to the Bridges Juvenile Crisis and Assessment Center in Winston-Salem. Many of the kids had been struggling to get in contact with their parents and soon learned that the devastation had made its way to their homes as well.

    Until the youth could be safely transported, staff at Western Area returned to work to continue cooking and taking care of them, transitioning the facility into a safe haven for support and community.

    “Everything from cat litter, to baby food, to gas, to food, I mean, you name it, water, paper towels, everything,” Morgan said. “Methodist Home really wrapped around our staff, and while our kids weren’t here, it became a hub for our staff to come in here.”

    Staff members impacted by the storm stayed for days until relief came. Morgan said Helene humbled the staff at Western Area Juvenile and Assessment Center, but it challenged them to grow as individuals and as an agency.

    “All of our youth that still come here rather assessment crisis or secure custody are benefiting from that because our staff are like family,” Morgan said.

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    Darrielle Fair

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  • Potential Tropical Cyclone 9 could impact the Southeast next week

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    Potential Tropical Cyclone 9 has formed in the western Atlantic near the Bahamas. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Potential Tropical Cyclone 9 has formed

    • It’s expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Imelda

    • It could make landfall along the southeastern coast next week


    It is a Potential Tropical Cyclone with maximum winds of 35 mph. It is moving northwest at 9 mph across the western Atlantic. 

    It’s expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Imelda and then eventually into a hurricane as it moves north toward the southeastern coast. It could make landfall anywhere from Georgia to the Carolinas early next week.

    The forecast for Potential Tropical Cyclone 9 still has a lot of uncertainty, as it should interact with Tropical Storm Humberto, making the long-term track and intensity forecast more difficult than usual. The entire southeastern U.S. coast should be monitoring it closely.


    The cone of uncertainty displays where the center of a storm could be located. It does not predict which areas may feel the storm’s impact. Anyone outside but near the cone should be on alert and make storm preparations.


    Spaghetti models or plots show a series of individual computer forecast models together on one map. They are useful to give insight into whether multiple models are in agreement on the path of the storm but they do not address the storm’s forecast intensity, winds, flooding and storm surge potential or other data. Tap here for more details on how to best use these models.

    Heavy rainfall and flooding is expected across parts of the Southeast throughout early next week. 


    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Spectrum News Weather Staff

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  • New program protecting eastern hellbenders from extinction

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    Eastern hellbenders, the giant salamanders that swim in western North Carolina’s waterways, also known as snot otters, devil dogs and lasagna lizards, are at risk of becoming endangered. But the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service announced a new program to try to change that.

    What You Need To Know

    • The United States Department of Agriculture started a new program to protect eastern hellbenders 

    • These salamanders are at risk of extinction because of human activities polluting the waterways in which they live 

    • Conservationists will be sent to counties in western North Carolina and work with landowners and agricultural producers to help repair hellbender habitat 


    The service identified 35 counties across three states — North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee — that it will send conservationists to. They will work with landowners and agricultural producers to help repair the hellbender’s aquatic habitat and protect against future damage created by fertilizer runoff and other water contaminants.


    The conservation service offers free technical and financial assistance to make these changes.

    Efforts to help hellbenders could also benefit other species that share their habitat, including the bog turtle, Appalachian elktoe and brook trout.

     

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    Caroline King

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  • On N.C.’s rivers and streams, the cleanup of Helene’s fury seems never-ending

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    WOODFIN, N.C. (AP) — Bracing himself against the current in waist-deep water, Clancy Loorham wrestles a broken length of PVC pipe from the rocky bottom of the French Broad River and peers inside.

    What You Need To Know

    • It’s been only a year since Hurricane Helene hammered the southeast U.S. from Florida to the Carolinas

    • Some of the heaviest damage came from flooding in the North Carolina mountains, where some 30 inches of rain turned gentle streams into walls of water that swept away anything in their path

    • In the understandable haste to rescue people and restore their lives to some semblance of normalcy, some fear the recovery efforts compounded Helene’s impact on the ecosystem

    • Contractors hired to remove vehicles, shipping containers, shattered houses and other large debris from waterways sometimes damaged sensitive habitat


    “I got a catfish in the pipe,” the 27-year-old with wispy beard and mustache shouted to fellow cleanup workers floating nearby in rafts, canoes and kayaks piled with plastic pipe and other human-made detritus. “He’s right here. I’m looking him in the eyes!”

    It’s been just a year since floodwaters from the remnants of Hurricane Helene washed these pipes out of a nearby factory with such force that some pieces ended up in Douglas Lake, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) away in Tennessee. But they’re already slick with algae and filled with river silt — and creatures.

    Debris is strewn on the lake in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Oct. 2, 2024, in Lake Lure, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

    Helene killed more than 250 people and caused nearly $80 billion in damage from Florida to the Carolinas. In the North Carolina mountains, rains of up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) turned gentle streams into torrents that swept away trees, boulders, homes and vehicles, shattered century-old flood records, and in some places carved out new channels.

    Related: One year after Helene: Western N.C.’s ongoing journey to recovery

    In the haste to rescue people and restore their lives to some semblance of normalcy, some fear the recovery efforts compounded Helene’s impact on the ecosystem. Contractors hired to remove vehicles, shipping containers, shattered houses and other large debris from waterways sometimes damaged sensitive habitat.

    “They were using the river almost as a highway in some situations,” said Peter Raabe, Southeast regional director for the conservation group American Rivers.

    Conservationists found instances of contractors cutting down healthy trees and removing live root balls, said Jon Stamper, river cleanup coordinator for MountainTrue, the North Carolina-based nonprofit conducting the French Broad work.

    “Those trees kind of create fish habitats,” he said. “They slow the flow of water down. They’re an important part of a river system, and we’ve seen kind of a disregard for that.”

    The Army Corps of Engineers said in a statement that debris removal missions “are often challenging” due to the large volume storms can leave behind across a wide area. The Corps said it trains its contractors to minimize disturbances to waterways and to prevent harm to wildlife. North Carolina Emergency Management said debris removal after Helene took into account safety and the environment, and that projects reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency met that agency’s standards for minimizing impact.

    Battered first by the storm, and then by the cleanup

    Hannah Woodburn, who tracks the headwaters and tributaries of the New River as MountainTrue’s Upper New Riverkeeper, said waters are much muddier since Helene, both from storm-related vegetation loss and from heavy machinery used during cleanup.

    She said it’s been bad for the eastern hellbender, a “species of special concern” in North Carolina. It’s one of only three giant salamanders found in the world, growing up to 2 feet (61 centimeters) long and weighing more than 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms).

    “After the storm, we had so many reports and pictures of dead hellbenders, some nearly a mile from the stream once the waters receded,” said Woodburn.

    Of even greater concern is the Appalachian elktoe, a federally endangered mussel found only in the mountains of North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Helene hurt the Appalachian elktoe, but it also suffered from human-caused damage, said Mike Perkins, a state biologist.

    Perkins said some contractors coordinated with conservation teams ahead of river cleanups and took precautions. Others were not so careful.

    Michael Perkins, an aquatic wildlife biologist holds a brook floater mussel Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, near Marion, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

    He described snorkeling in the cold waters of the Little River and “finding crushed individuals, some of them still barely alive, some with their insides hanging out.” On that river, workers moved 60 Appalachian elktoe to a refuge site upstream. On the South Toe River, home to one of the most important populations, biologists collected a dozen and took them to a hatchery to store in tanks until it’s safe to return them to the wild.

    “It was shocking and unprecedented in my professional line of work in 15 years,” Perkins said of the incident. “There’s all of these processes in place to prevent this secondary tragedy from happening, and none of it happened.”

    Andrea Leslie, mountain habitat conservation coordinator with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, said she hopes the experience can inform future recovery efforts.

    “To a certain degree, you can’t do this perfectly,” she said. “They’re in emergency mode. They’re working to make sure that people are safe and that infrastructure is safe. And it’s a big, complicated process. And there are multiple places in my observation where we could shift things to be more careful.”

    Humans along the river are still recovering, too

    Like the hellbender and the Appalachian elktoe, humans cling to the river, too.

    Vickie and Paul Revis’ home sat beside old U.S. 70 in a bend of the Swannanoa River. As Helene swept through, the Swannanoa took their home and scraped away a big chunk of their half-acre lot.

    With the land paid for and no flood insurance payment to move away, they decided to stay put.

    “When you own it and you’re not rich, you know, you can’t,” Vickie Revis said, staring across the river at a row of condemned commercial buildings.

    After a year in a donated camper, they’ll soon move into their new house — a double-wide modular home, also donated by a local Christian charity. It sits atop a 6-foot mound that Paul Revis piled up near the front of the property, farther from the river.

    Using rock, fill dirt and broken concrete dumped on his property by friendly debris-removal contractors, Paul has reclaimed the frontage the Swannanoa took. His wife planted it with marigolds for beauty and a weeping willow for stability. And they’ve purchased flood insurance.

    “I hope I never see another one in my lifetime, and I’m hoping that if I do, it does hold up,” Vickie said. “I mean, that’s all we can (do). Mother Nature does whatever she wants to do, and you just have to roll with it.”

    Tons of debris pulled out, tons still to go

    Back on the French Broad, the tedious cleanup work continues. Many on the crew are rafting guides knocked out of work by the storm.

    MountainTrue got a $10 million, 18-month grant from the state for the painstaking work of pulling small debris from the rivers and streams. Since July, teams have removed more than 75 tons from about a dozen rivers across five watersheds.

    Red-tailed hawks and osprey circle high overhead as the flotilla glides past banks lined with willow, sourwood and sycamore, ablaze with goldenrod and jewelweed. That peacefulness belies its fury of a year ago that upended so many lives.

    “There are so many people who are living in western North Carolina right now that feel very afraid of our rivers,” said Liz McGuirl, a crew member who managed a hair salon before Helene put her out of work. “They feel hurt. They feel betrayed.”

    Downstream, as McGuirl hauled up a length of pipe, another catfish swam out.

    “We’re creating a habitat, but it’s just the wrong habitat,” crew leader Leslie Beninato said ruefully. “I’d like to give them a tree as a home, maybe, instead of a pipe.”

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • One year after Helene: Western N.C.’s ongoing journey to recovery

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    A year since Hurricane Helene rocked the mountains, communities in western North Carolina are still reckoning with the devastation it caused.

    Buncombe, Henderson, Yancey and other counties will hold memorials on the anniversary, Sept. 27, to honor the 108 lives lost in the state due to the storm.

    The hurricane first made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26 and churned its way through Georgia and South Carolina before arriving in North Carolina the following day.

    Helene dumped a record-breaking 5 inches of rain per hour on the western part of the state, whose soil was already soaked from downpours earlier in the month, according to the National Weather Service. This led to historic flooding that triggered nearly 2,000 landslides.

    North Carolina’s Governor Office estimates that Helene caused a total of $59.62 billion in damage in the state.

    Some deadlines for individuals or businesses to apply for Helene recovery assistance passed earlier this year, but applications for a North Carolina housing rehabilitation program are still open.

    Gov. Josh Stein recently requested $13.5 billion more from Congress to aid recovery efforts. Stein said he’s grateful for $5.2 billion in federal funds the state has been allocated so far but North Carolina has not received “anywhere near what it needs.”

    The requested money would help rebuild homes, support small businesses and repair roads, he said. 

    More than 1,400 roads were closed after the storm. Now, 34 remain shut down, but the majority are back online according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s regularly updated map of roads effected by the storm.

    As roads reopen, the areas connected to them have as well, just in time for the mountains’ upcoming tourism season.

    As the leaves turn bright yellow, orange and red, many are drawn to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway to take in the views of the fall foliage.

    The National Park Service has an interactive map that shows which parts of the parkway are allowing through traffic. The scenic 26-mile section from Asheville to Craggy Gardens reopened last week.

    Several other state parks reopened this summer. In June, Chimney Rock State Park welcomed back its first visitors since last year to climb the 499 steps to the American flag atop the chimney-shaped outcrop.

    Visit North Carolina has an online tourism guide with a list of autumnal attraction recommendations in western North Carolina.


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    Caroline King

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  • Gabrielle accelerates into the northern Atlantic

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    Hurricane Gabrielle is still a major hurricane as it pulls away from Bermuda. It rapidly intensified Monday, and remains a powerful storm.

    It formed Atlantic on Wednesday, Sept. 17. It’s the seventh named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.

    What You Need To Know

    • Gabrielle is moving away from Bermuda

    • It’s still a major hurricane

    • A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the Azores


    Gabrielle is now a Category 3 hurricane with maximum winds of 115 mph. It is currently moving east-northeast at 25 mph over the open Atlantic. 

    Gabrielle will continue to move east out into the open waters of the Atlantic for the rest of the week as it transitions into a post-tropical cyclone. It will stay far enough from Bermuda to avoid any significant impacts, but it will bring large swells to Bermuda and the East Coast of the U.S.

    Vertical wind shear continues to slowly increase over the hurricane, and shear will increase further while Gabrielle moves over cooler ocean
    waters, and the latest guidance shows a slightly faster rate of weakening than earlier. The NHC intensity forecast follows suit, showing steady weakening through the next 2-3 days, though Gabrielle should still be a hurricane when it moves across the Azores late this week as a hurricane with Hurricane Warnings in effect.


    The cone of uncertainty displays where the center of a storm could be located. It does not predict which areas may feel the storm’s impact. Anyone outside but near the cone should be on alert and make storm preparations.


    Spaghetti models or plots show a series of individual computer forecast models together on one map. They are useful to give insight into whether multiple models are in agreement on the path of the storm but they do not address the storm’s forecast intensity, winds, flooding and storm surge potential or other data. Tap here for more details on how to best use these models.

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Spectrum News Weather Staff

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  • Tropical Storm Humberto forms in the Atlantic

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    Tropical Storm Humberto has formed in the central Atlantic. It’s the eighth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.

    What You Need To Know

    • Humberto has formed in the Atlantic

    • It’s a tropical storm with max winds of 40 mph

    • It’s expected to become a hurricane


    Humberto is a tropical storm with maximum winds of 40 mph. It is currently moving west-northwest at 15 mph toward the western Atlantic. 

    It’s expected to continue its track toward the northwest or west-northwest during the next couple of days, staying well north of the Leeward Islands. It is expected to strengthen into a hurricane over the weekend. 

    The forecast for Humberto still has a lot of uncertainty, as it could interact with another tropical wave near the Caribbean, making the long-term track and intensity forecast more difficult than usual. It’s not a threat to the U.S. at this time.


    The cone of uncertainty displays where the center of a storm could be located. It does not predict which areas may feel the storm’s impact. Anyone outside but near the cone should be on alert and make storm preparations.


    Spaghetti models or plots show a series of individual computer forecast models together on one map. They are useful to give insight into whether multiple models are in agreement on the path of the storm but they do not address the storm’s forecast intensity, winds, flooding and storm surge potential or other data. Tap here for more details on how to best use these models.

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Spectrum News Weather Staff

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  • A year in the mountains: Mapping our coverage of Helene

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    Hurricane Helene first made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26 and tore its way through Georgia and South Carolina before hitting North Carolina the following day. Flooding from the storm left widespread devastation in its wake, demolishing homes and businesses, ripping up roads, causing thousands of mudslides and drowning infrastructure.

    Spectrum News 1 journalists came alongside these hurting communities to tell the stories of their struggles and resiliency as they grappled with rebuilding structures and communities.

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    Charles Duncan

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  • Fall officially arrives with the autumnal equinox

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    Fall has officially arrived. Summer has come to an end, meaning cooler and shorter days are on the horizon. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Fall begins Monday, Sept. 22

    • The 2025 autumnal equinox happens at 2:19 p.m. ET

    • The largest daily loss of daylight occurs in September



    The change in seasons occurs with the solstice or the equinox determined by the Earth’s tilt and orbit around the sun. 

    What is the equinox?

    The Earth is tilted at a 23.5-degree angle, and as it travels around the sun, the Earth’s axis is tilted toward or away from the sun.

    During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up, allowing the sun’s rays to shine directly on the equator. This means that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight.

    Meteorological Fall vs. Astronomical Fall

     

    The meteorological seasons are calendar-based, whereas the astronomical seasons rely on the Earh’s position to the sun. 

    Meteorological fall occurs from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30. The meteorological seasons are broken down evenly into 3-month periods based on temperature and weather cycles. 

    Astronomical fall typically starts between Sept. 21 and Sept. 23. This varies because of leap years, which can shift the start date by a day or two. 

    Why do we lose so much daylight?

    We have been slowly losing more and more daylight since the summer solstice in June, and will continue to lose more daylight until the winter solstice in December. The largest daily loss of daylight occurs in September, especially as the autumnal equinox approaches.

    The Earth’s 23.5-degree tilt is the main reason we see daylight changes throughout the year. Your latitude also plays a role as well.

    This time of year, the Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the sun, leading to a decrease in daylight. Areas located closer to the equator will see less variation in daylight hours as opposed to areas located closer to the North Pole.

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Meteorologist Ramel Carpenter

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  • Team Penske turns the tables in 2nd-round opener of NASCAR Cup playoffs

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    Joe Gibbs Racing has two drivers feuding, but another pair of teammates were the primary concern after the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday.

    What You Need To Know

    • Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday

    • Team Penske Fords of Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano dominated the track with similarities to the 1-mile layout at the championship venue where Penske has won three consecutive titles, Phoenix Raceway

    • Joe Gibbs Racing won three consecutive victories in the first round of the playoffs, but struggled in the second round after a recent internal squabble 


    While the JGR Toyotas were struggling and spinning each other on the 1.058-mile oval, the Team Penske Fords of Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano were dominating at a track with similarities to the 1-mile layout at the championship venue where Penske has won three consecutive titles, Phoenix Raceway.

    “I think the biggest thing you’ve got to take away from today is that at a 1-mile racetrack, the Penske cars are completely untouchable again,” JGR director of competition Chris Gabehart said. “The reality is we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

    After a virtually perfect first round of the playoffs with three consecutive victories, Joe Gibbs Racing opened the second round dealing with an internal squabble of Denny Hamlin vs. Ty Gibbs and an external threat from Penske — which is familiar for championship contenders in NASCAR’s premier series.

    Penske has won Cup titles on late-season surges by Blaney, who won two of the final six races in 2023, and Logano, who won two of the last four in ’22 and ’24.

    With six races left this season, the team got a head start on its championship push at New Hampshire. Logano started on the pole position and took fourth after leading a race-high 147 of 301 laps. Blaney started second and led 116 laps for his third victory this year.

    “We did a great job of preparing, and our cars are really fast as a whole,” Blaney said. “It’s huge anytime you can win in the playoffs. It’s just momentum. When you win in the playoffs, it’s just a confidence boost for everybody. Maybe a little weight off your shoulders.”

    The burden of playoff pressure has shifted to JGR, which led only 19 laps as its three-race win streak at New Hampshire was snapped. The team’s top finisher was Christopher Bell in sixth — the first time since September 2014 that JGR left New Hampshire without a top five.

    “We just didn’t have the pace to run with the top competitors,” said Bell, who has won at Kansas Speedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, the last two tracks in the second round. “I feel good about our performance at the next two (races), but I felt good about our performance coming into here and it didn’t turn out.”

    As Blaney advanced with a victory, Bell remained a solid bet to be among the other seven contenders who will reach the third round. He is ranked fourth among the 12 playoff drivers and a spot ahead of Hamlin, who finished 12th after his dustup with Gibbs.

    Hamlin had some choice words on his team radio for the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, who is out of the playoffs but seemed to impede the progress of his teammates early in the race. Gabehart downplayed the dissension, which he said would be defused in team meetings this week.

    “I think there’s a reasonable etiquette to follow,” Gabehart said. “But at the same time, you can’t create an atmosphere where everybody just has to roll over and play nice all the time, either, or you won’t hang as many banners as Joe Gibbs Racing has hung over the years.”

    Hamlin was focused more on his disappointing performance than patching things up.

    “Certainly, we didn’t come here with our best,” Hamlin said. “Got to get a little faster, get the car handle a little better, and I certainly got to do a better job.”

    Blaney suggested a new right-side tire might have dulled JGR’s edge at New Hampshire.

    “I didn’t think they had the pace that I expected,” Blaney said. “This sport is just ebbs and flows, ups and downs. We just hit it really good this weekend. When you have a big tire change, it can really turn you around.”

    The same tire will be used for the 2025 season’s final two races at Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix, where Bell won in March.

    But Logano clinched his past two titles by winning the championship race at Phoenix, and Blaney captured the 2023 title with a second in the season finale and was runner-up last year.

    “The reality is it’s playoff season, and here come the (Penske) cars,” Gabehart said. “Those guys know how to get it done when it counts, and we’ll just have to race them the rest of the year and see how it goes. They’re going to be very tough.”

    23XI struggles

    Kansas Speedway has been a good track at 23XI Racing, which needs a boost after stumbling badly at New Hampshire. Tyler Reddick (21st) and Bubba Wallace (26th) fell to the last two spots in the playoff points standings.

    Wallace, who won at Kansas in 2022, said New Hampshire was “the longest day I’ve had in a race car in a long time. To be that far off, it caught all of us by surprise. It’s just a head scratcher. I told our team we’re way better than that.”

    Reddick battled brake problems from the outset en route to his third consecutive finish of 15th or worse since a second in the playoff opener at Darlington.

    “I thought we were going to be able to run in the top 10 all day,” said Reddick, a 2023 winner at Kansas. “It just got away quick. Just a terrible day. There’s just a lot of question marks, honestly. We need something special to happen. I’m hoping we find the answer.”

    Chasing greatness

    With its playoff trio of William Byron (third), Chase Elliott (fifth) and Kyle Larson (seventh), Hendrick Motorsports had three top 10s at New Hampshire for the first time in a decade. Elliott delivered an impressive drive after qualifying 27th — his fifth consecutive start outside the top 15.

    “Just hate I put us in those holes,” NASCAR’s seven-time most popular driver said. “It’s a great day for sure to battle and claw our way back up into the mix, but you hate to have to do that.”

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    Associated Press

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  • Country music singer, songwriter dies in plane crash in N.C.’s mountains

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    Country singer and songwriter, Brett James, known for the hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” died with two others in a small plane in North Carolina’s mountains Tuesday, according to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

    James, also known for the hit song “When the Sun Goes Down,” was traveling in a the single-engine, Cirrus SR22T plane when it crashed near Lotla Valley Elementary School by Franklin. He was 58.  

    The town is located about an hour west of Asheville, and no one at the school was hurt when the crash happened. But emergency management officials said there were no survivors on the plane.

    As of Friday moring, officials had not released the names of the two others killed in the wreck. 


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    Daniel Gray

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  • When will you see the first freeze this fall?

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    Leaves are changing, and the first day of astronomical fall is next Monday, Sept. 22. Most of the country will begin to see cooler temperatures in the coming weeks, and some won’t have to wait long.

    Even though winter doesn’t begin until December, cold air and freezing temperatures arrive well before then for most of the U.S.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Northern Plains and Intermountain West usually dip down below freezing before September is over

    • Interior New England  and the Great Lakes also see freezing temperatures before most of the country

    • Cold air arrives in Florida, the Gulf Coast and the Desert Southwest last



    Winter arrives at the time time every year on the calendar, but not on your thermometer. Every year is different. The maps below give a good idea of when you can expect the first freeze where you live based on the 1991-2020 U.S. climate normals.

    The maps below show the ‘median,’ or average date of the first freeze. This is when you could expect the first freeze to arrive during a ‘normal’ year. The next one shows the ‘earliest 10%’ which shows a scenario of when colder air arrives early, about once every 10 years. And the last map shows the ‘latest 10%,’ so during a warm year when cold air arrives late.

    Northeast

    Most of the Northeast and New England see the first freeze before or during early fall, in September or early October. The mountains and high elevations across interior New England and the Adirondacks average freezing temperatures sometime in September, with the rest of the Northeast getting freezing cold sometime during October or early November.

    Midwest

    The Upper Midwest and Northern Plains also get in on the cold early. Around the Great Lakes and Dakotas, the first freeze typically arrives during September or early October. Further south the wait isn’t much longer. Freezing air usually arrives to the rest of the Midwest sometime before Halloween.

    Northwest

    There are many microclimates across the Northwest, so the arrival of cold air varies. Across the Rockies and Intermountain West, some areas experience cold year-round and as early as August and early September. The Pacific Northwest might not see freezing temperatures arrive until late October or November thanks to the maritime influence. 

    Southwest

    The Southwest has a variety of climates as well, so the temperatures differ greatly during the fall and winter. The Desert Southwest and coastal California don’t see the arrival of cold air until late in the season, sometimes not until December. Once you get into the high desert and Southern Plains, it arrives much earlier, around October or early November.

    Southeast

    If you live in the Southeast, it still gets cold, especially away from the large bodies of water. In the Appalachians and areas away from the Gulf and Atlantic coast, freezing temperatures usually begin before Thanksgiving in late October or early November. The Gulf Coast and Florida, however, wait much longer, with freezing temperatures not arriving until late November or December. In South and Central Florida and southern Texas, freezing temperatures may never even arrive.

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Meteorologist Reid Lybarger

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  • ‘It calms me down’: Dog therapy helps those with memory loss diseases

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    CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina woman and dog lover discovered how helpful therapy pets can be for those suffering from memory loss completely by accident. 

    Joan Wright first found this form of therapy when it helped her father. She said he had a larger-than-life personality until showing signs of dementia. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Dog therapy is shown to improve mood and facilitate social interaction among dementia patients, according to Alzheimer’s Association

    • The CEO of N.C. memory loss center says pet therapy provides connection and engagement that helps patients’ quality of life

    • Dogs used in dog therapy go through intensive behavioral training to prepare them to respond safely in unfamiliar settings like a medical office

    • You can coordinate a dog therapy visit by visiting this website 


    “One day I noticed that when he was with his Cavalier King Charles [Spaniel] dog on his lap, he was a lot calmer and that calmed me down. And I would sit down, and we would have dog talk because that’s what he would be able to talk about,” Wright said.

    She takes her two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Oliver and Brodie, into Memory & Movement Charlotte for a special visit. Staff members rush to greet these furry friends.

    “One doesn’t want the other to get any more attention,” Wright said.

    These playful pups are here specifically for people like Laurie Purvis. She was just diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease this year.

    “Finding out I had Alzheimer’s just like absolutely blew my mind. I was so upset,” Purvis said. But she says interacting with a dog helps her to relax.

    “It calms me down to sit there and pet the dog,” Purvis said.

    It’s something her sister and now caregiver, Kathleen Purvis, says helps her too.

    “My dog, you know, curls in and makes me feel better when I’m scared to death about all of this,” she said.

    People with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are known to lose their memories and have trouble communicating. But dog therapy is showing promise in making them feel calm and connected. Those stories are why Wright does this work.

    The CEO of Memory & Movement Charlotte, Janet LeClair, said this kind of connection is more important than you’d think.

    “Even with pet therapy, there is a strong element of socialization. And so feeling that connection to people, to engagement is probably the most important thing for people and for their quality of life,” LeClair said.

    “It’s not about sort of curing the disease. It’s about creating moments of joy when they’re around a dog,” Wright said.

    Wright said Oliver and Brodie are professionals. They go through intensive behavioral training to prepare them to respond safely in unfamiliar settings, like a medical office. She said if you or someone who know wants to have a dog therapy visit, you can click here.

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    Spectrum News Staff

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  • Tony Stewart to race against wife, Leah Pruett, in NHRA during 2026

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    NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart will continue his drag-racing career in 2026 — and he will compete against his wife.

    Stewart announced Thursday he will drive a Top Fuel dragster for Elite Motorsports next season. The move comes two weeks after he announced plans to turn his NHRA seat back over to his wife, Leah Pruett. Pruett took a little more than a year off after welcoming their son, Dominic.

    Pruett will resume her role at Tony Stewart Racing in 2026, and Stewart will now race against her even though their teams have a marketing alliance.

    “First things first, though, we need to get the program funded, but letting everyone know our intentions, that will help,” team owner Richard Freeman said. “Tony is a great driver; we all know he can drive anything.

    “He’s great for drag racing, not just as a team owner but behind the wheel. We’re excited that through our marketing alliance with Tony Stewart Racing, we’re creating an opportunity for Tony to keep a Top Fuel seat and a chance to race alongside his wife, Leah.”

    Freeman purchased the Top Fuel operation from Josh Hart earlier this month — and now he has one of the motorsport’s most accomplished drivers behind the wheel.

    “I said from the very beginning that I was just keeping Leah’s seat warm and that it was hers as soon as she was ready to come back,” Stewart said. “And as much as I wanted to continue driving, TSR is not in a position to add a second Top Fuel car. But with Richard buying Josh Hart’s team and our recent alliance, I can still work as an owner and a driver to help both our organizations grow.”

    The 2026 season will be Stewart’s third in Top Fuel. The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 1997 IndyCar champion earned NHRA Rookie of the Year honors in 2024 and broke through with two Top Fuel wins this year. With five races left in the NHRA season, Stewart is second in points.

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    Associated Press

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  • USDA providing $221 million to help N.C. farmers recover from Helene

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    HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. — A new round of relief is on its way to farmers in western North Carolina affected by Helene.

    What You Need To Know

    • The USDA is allocating $221.2 million to assist North Carolina farmers who suffered infrastructure, timber and market losses in Helene

    • Helene is estimated to have caused $4.23 billion of damage to the state’s agricultural industry

    • The USDA’s funding comes after the North Carolina General Assembly allocated $478 million to farmers for lost crops


    The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced it is allocating $221.2 million to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for a program to assist farmers who suffered infrastructure, timber and market losses in Helene.

    The funding is part of the $30 billion disaster assistance relief effort authorized by the American Relief Act.

    “It’s going to keep a good many farmers in business,” Kenny Barnwell, an apple orchard farmer, said.

    “I believe it’s going to be helpful to get our growers back on their feet so that when they start in the next season, maybe they’ll be in a little better shape than they have been this season,” Dr. Terry Kelley, the director of Henderson County Cooperative Extension, said.

    Helene is estimated to have caused $4.23 billion of damage to the state’s agricultural industry, according to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, including crop, infrastructure and equipment loss. 

    Helene washed out a road on Barnwell’s apple orchard and killed over 3,000 of his apple trees. He estimates his property sustained about $500,000 in damage and expects to feel the impacts from Helene for the next six years.

    “I hope we never have another 12 months like we had this last 12,” Barnwell said.

    The USDA’s funding comes after the North Carolina General Assembly allocated $478 million to farmers for crops lost in Helene. While that money is starting to be distributed, farmers are hopeful support from the USDA will help them recoup some of their losses.

    “Until these checks get into these people’s hands, a lot of it is up in the air,” Barnwell said.

    The USDA has not announced when farmers can apply for this assistance. Officials encourage farmers to keep in contact with their local North Carolina Cooperative Extension office for more information.

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    Chloe Salsameda

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  • Early voting begins for local primaries in many N.C. cities

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    Early voting has started in several counties across North Carolina where municipal elections are scheduled October. The biggest elections this round are in Durham, Greensboro and Fayetteville.

    What You Need To Know

    •  In-person voting for the October 2025 municipal elections in North Carolina is underway

    •  Voting begins Sept. 18 and runs through Oct. 4 at 3 p.m.

    •  The October municipal elections will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 7


    Early voting runs from Thursday, Sept. 18, through Saturday, Oct. 4, at 3 p.m. The October 2025 municipal elections will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

    Early voting has begun in the following counties:

    • Burke
    • Camden
    • Catawba
    • Craven
    • Cumberland
    • Durham
    • Edgecombe
    • Franklin
    • Guilford
    • Harnett
    • Nash
    • Orange
    • Pasquotank
    • Person
    • Randolph
    • Richmond
    • Vance
    • Wake

    To see a complete list of early voting sites in those counties, click here.

    You can use the following map from the North Carolina State Board of Elections to learn more about the municipal elections in your area. 

    Early voting for municipal elections taking place in November will begin on Thursday, Oct. 16, and will run through Saturday, Nov. 1.

    November municipal elections will be held Tuesday, Nov. 4.

    For more information on early voting, voting locations, voter ID requirements, registration and more, click here.

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    Justin Pryor

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  • Helene displaced thousands of students. Some struggled to get back on track

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    SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) — When 12-year-old Natalie Briggs visited the ruins of her home after Hurricane Helene, she had to tightrope across a wooden beam to reach what was once her bedroom.

    What You Need To Know

    • Thousands of students across western North Carolina lost their homes a year ago when Helene hit with some of the most vicious floods, landslides and wind ever seen in the mountainous region

    • Helene damaged more than 73,000 homes

    • The homeless student population surged, doubling in some places and even increasing fourfold in one county

    • Across the state, more than 2,500 students were identified as homeless as a direct result of Helene, according to state data obtained by The Associated Press


    Knots of electrical wires were draped inside the skeleton of the house. Months after the storm, light filtered through breaks in the tarps over the windows. “All I could think of was, ‘This isn’t my house,’” said Natalie, who had been staying in her grandparents’ basement.

    At school, Natalie sometimes had panic attacks when she thought of her ruined home in Swannanoa.

    “There were some points where I just didn’t want people to talk to me about the house — or just, like, talk to me at all,” Natalie said.

    Thousands of students across western North Carolina lost their homes a year ago when Helene hit with some of the most vicious floods, landslides and wind ever seen in the state’s Appalachian region, once considered a “climate haven.” Across the state, more than 2,500 students were identified as homeless as a direct result of Helene, according to state data obtained by The Associated Press.

    While storm debris has been mostly cleared away, the impact of the displacement lingers for the region’s children. Schools reopened long before many students returned to their homes, and their learning and well-being have yet to recover.

    The phenomenon is increasingly common as natural disasters disrupt U.S. communities more frequently and with more ferocity.

    ___

    The Associated Press is collaborating with Blue Ridge Public Radio, Honolulu Civil Beat, CalMatters and Centro de Periodismo Investigativo in Puerto Rico to examine how school communities are recovering from the disruption of natural disasters.

    ___

    In the North Carolina mountains, the challenge of recovery is especially acute. After all, many families in rural, low-income areas already deal with challenges such as food insecurity and rent affordability, said Cassandra Davis, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill public policy professor.

    “I would almost argue that they don’t get the opportunity to recover,” Davis said.

    Finding stable housing became all-consuming

    After Helene flooded her rental home in Black Mountain, Bonnie Christine Goggins-Jones and her two teenage grandchildren had to leave behind nearly all their belongings.

    “They lost their bed, clothes, shoes, their book bag,” she said.

    The family lived in a motel, a leaky donated camper and another camper before moving into a new apartment in June.

    Goggins-Jones, a school bus aide at Asheville City Schools, struggled to heat the camper during winter. Her grandchildren kept going to school, but it wasn’t top of mind.

    The area around Asheville, western North Carolina’s largest city, still has a significant housing shortage a year after the storm.

    The family of America Sanchez Chavez, 11, had to split up to find housing. Helene left their trailer home in Swannanoa uninhabitable, and money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency wasn’t enough to cover the renovations.

    America and some relatives went to stay at her grandmother’s apartment, while her older brother lived at a friend’s house. Eventually, America moved with her mother to a room at a Black Mountain hotel where she works.

    America said she is still frightened by rain or thunder.

    “At one point when the rain actually got, like, pretty bad … I did get scared for a while,” she said.

    Helene damaged more than 73,000 homes, knocking out electricity and water for weeks if not months. The destruction of local infrastructure also closed schools for large stretches of time, and a barrage of snow days exacerbated the time out of class even more. In rural Yancey County, which has approximately 18,000 residents, students missed more than two months of school last year.

    Displaced students spread across North Carolina

    After natural disasters, it’s common to see a surge in students living in unstable, temporary arrangements, such as sleeping on a couch, staying in a shelter, or doubling up with another family, according to research from UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools. Those arrangements qualify students as homeless under federal law.

    In Puerto Rico, more than 6,700 students were identified as homeless in Hurricane Maria’s aftermath during the 2017-2018 school year, the study found. Hawaii saw a 59% increase in its homeless student population following the 2023 Maui wildfires.

    In Helene’s aftermath, student homelessness spiked in several hard-hit counties, according to AP’s analysis of data from the North Carolina Homeless Education Program.

    Yancey County saw the region’s highest percentage increase. The number of homeless students went from 21 in the 2023-2024 school year to 112 last school year. All but 15 were homeless due to Helene.

    Some students enrolled in other school systems, at least temporarily. Others never returned.

    Terri Dolan of Swannanoa sent her two young children to stay with her parents in Charlotte ahead of the storm. After seeing the extent of the devastation, Dolan had them enroll in school there. They stayed over a month before returning home.

    “My job is to make money for our family and their job is to go to school,’” Dolan says she’d always told her kids. “Just because the school wasn’t open here, I felt like they needed to go to school and do their job.”

    Some districts receive federal money for services such as transporting homeless students to their usual school buildings and providing tutoring under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. But districts must apply in a competitive process, and they can’t request more money immediately after a natural disaster until the next application cycle. Many miss out on McKinney-Vento funding entirely.

    Helene-impacted students made up at least a fifth of the homeless population in 16 counties, but only six counties received McKinney-Vento money last funding cycle. Nationally, only 1 in 5 school districts receives McKinney-Vento money due to limited funds, said Barbara Duffield, executive director of Schoolhouse Connection, a nonprofit that advocates for homeless students.

    “If there’s a disaster, it’s going to involve districts that don’t get money from McKinney-Vento,” Duffield said.

    Housing instability has a lasting impact

    Gwendolyn Bode, a pre-law student at Appalachian State University, had to leave her mud-wrecked apartment complex after Helene. Told she couldn’t get campus housing, she found an Airbnb where she could stay at until her FEMA housing application went through, and then she moved into a hotel.

    She felt like she was drowning as she tried to keep up with her classes and a part-time job.

    “I can’t tell you what I learned,” Bode said. “I can’t even tell you when I went to class, because (mentally) I wasn’t there.” She found more stability after moving into an apartment for the spring semester.

    For Natalie Briggs, now 13, the grief of losing almost everything, coupled with the tight quarters in her grandparents’ basement, sometimes got to her — and to her mother, Liz Barker. Barker said it felt like a “time with no rules” because there was so much to deal with on top of her job as a health care worker.

    The circumstances sometimes led to friction. But Barker said overall, she and Natalie had “done pretty well” together.

    “She’s been a little bit more loving since all of this happened,” Barker said, smiling at her daughter.

    “I give her hugs and stuff,” Natalie said, “and I’ll tell her I love her, more than I did.”

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    Associated Press

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  • Amber Alert for missing child in Randolph County canceled

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    Law enforcement officials called off an Amber Alert after previously requesting the public’s help in finding a missing 1-year-old child.

    The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office issued the alert for Iris Everly-Marie Fargis Wednesday. She’s white, approximately 2 feet tall and weighs 23 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

    Officials said the child was last seen in a Halloween shirt with a white ghost on the front, and black tights with jack-o’-lanterns on them.

    It was believed that the child is with Tyler Ray Toodle. However, officials did not say if the child was located with him. Toodle was described as a white, 26-year-old. Toodle weighs about 175 pounds and is about 6-feet-tall. Officials said he also has the number “336” tattooed on his left arm in blue ink, and “respect” tattooed on his right forearm.


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    Daniel Gray

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