Helene's cruel irony: The floods recede, but deadly flames rise in their place. 3,300 acres already consumed as Carolina faces an ecological nightmare.
North Carolina's unthinkable crisis: Helene's $59.6 billion devastation now fuels raging wildfires across counties already crippled by 1,000-year floods.
Lives hang in the balance.
Jeremy Waldrop from the North Carolina Forest Service has reported unprecedented fuel levels created by Hurricane Helene's aftermath. The destruction of 822,000 acres of timberland has created dangerous conditions for fire spread throughout the region.
