Asheville – Lumber, lumber everywhere, and not a log for a cabin. Citizens contacted the Tribune to report seeing trucks chipping up perfectly good wood by the roadside. Others inquired about what happens to the wood collected by the county. While it may be too waterlogged to sell off the shelves of Lowe’s, perhaps an artist could give it a new life and even turn it into something functional.
One would think the lumber industry would be thriving with a bumper crop of felled wood, but Keta Kosman of Madison’s Lumber Reporter stated that it was too early to determine whether the hurricane was a boon or a bane. She noted that in North Carolina, one large lumber mill and five medium-sized mills had been impacted by the hurricane. Mills in Georgia and Florida were also affected. In addition to damage to structures and inventory, mills faced power outages. Even when roads were restored for most traffic, several remained too narrow or fragile for lumber trucks.
Kosman recalled that during Hurricane Katrina, over 400,000 homes were destroyed, and more than 160,000 had to be demolished due to water damage. “This volume of homes accounted for 19% of single-family homebuilding in 2004, the previous year.” The amount of lumber manufactured increased by 5.4 billion board feet, or 9.2%, while the production of panels rose by 4.3 billion square feet, or 11.5%. Lumber prices increased by 7%, and panel prices surged by 20%. After Hurricane Andrew, lumber prices rose by 17%, and plywood prices jumped by 45%.
Kosman mentioned that customers and wholesalers were not stocking inventory; they were engaging in just-in-time buying to avoid purchasing large quantities of wood before a potential price drop. However, mills were well-stocked and prepared to meet a surge in demand should the market shift. They had already invested in the wood and now needed to recoup their costs.
It is clear that there is a pressing need for new homes. However, many residents in the mountains lacked insurance policies that cover hurricane damage, and those not living in flood plains likely did not believe they would ever need flood coverage. FEMA, of course, has limits on how much of these uninsured damages it can cover. During the recovery effort after Katrina, government engineers estimated lumber needs and spent three months purchasing lumber and reserving warehouses across the country “because they’re government,” said Kosman. This was not feasible in the Southeast due to state legislation requiring individuals to apply for limited awards granted on a case-by-case basis.
Jesse Henderson, an economist for the US Forest Service, has stated that while a lot of lumber may be salvaged from some storms, Helene was not one of them. Salvagers would have to navigate Asheville’s long and winding roads, which were broken and strewn with debris, then traverse the hills to capture stray trees and carry them through a maze of standing trees. Moreover, most of the fallen trees are of varieties that collectively make up only about 7% of the state’s timber market. The effort simply would not be cost-effective. The trees’ primary value lay in attracting tourists, who this year opted for locations with standing trees, navigable roads, and potable water.
Regarding residential trees, Buncombe County’s Solid Waste Director Dane Pedersen stated that the Army Corps of Engineers has contracted with AshBritt to pick up vegetative debris left at the curb. “Contractors are currently collecting debris from the right of way, transporting it to one of five temporarily permitted debris management sites, then grinding it and preparing it to be hauled to a final location.”
Pedersen highlighted one initiative that exemplifies good stewardship and effective practices. A coalition formed by federal, state, and local governments, nonprofits, and faith groups called Interagency Recovery Coordination aimed to salvage timber. He reported that “80-100 tons of fallen timber from the North Carolina Arboretum was processed for firewood donation through four community churches. Another 80 to 100 tons of the preserve’s logs were donated to local vendors for miscellaneous building and furniture material, and an additional two to five tons of logs were donated to local artists.”
This effort cleared over 5,000 fallen trees from the Arboretum’s trails, gardens, and education center. After 65 truckloads of wood were removed, the Arboretum was able to reopen to the public just in time for the traditional Winter Lights exhibit.