Hurricane Helene knocked down timber across hundreds of thousands of acres; state foresters seek federal grants, timber‑block payments and heavy equipment

State forestry and natural‑resources officials told the committee that Hurricane Helene caused widespread tree damage across the state, that salvage operations are under way in salvageable areas, and that agencies have requested federal assistance and sought a timber block grant for private landowners.

"The figure came back at $83,000,000 worth of timber damage," Russell Hubright, forest management chief for the South Carolina Forestry Commission, said after the agency’s aerial and ground surveys. He said the commission's work identified roughly 234,000 acres with some level of damage across 18 counties and that initial damage estimates were revised upward as more survey points were added.

Nut graf: Agency officials told the committee the storm damaged forest stands and urban trees across a wide swath of the state, and that state and federal assistance will be needed for salvage, replanting and urban wood‑waste disposal. The Forestry Commission, DNR and other agencies described current response actions and specific funding requests.

What the surveys found and what agencies are doing

Hubright summarized the commission’s survey process: aerial flights identified damage points, ground plots refined estimates of volume and value, and the agency worked with the U.S. Forest Service and Farm Service Agency to identify salvageable stands. Hubright said an initial calculation of $46 million was increased to $83 million after additional survey flights and plots. He said the agency also used a FEMA‑model estimate of 3,000,000 cubic yards of urban wood waste at roughly $20 per cubic yard, producing an additional urban disposal estimate of about $60 million and a combined damage figure often cited at $194 million.

Billy Dukes, chief of wildlife for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, told the committee DNR had been "very aggressive" in salvage and cleanup on properties the agency owns or manages and that DNR had already salvaged substantial volumes where terrain and access allowed. Dukes said some rugged, inaccessible national forest parcels — such as portions of Jocassee Gorges — are unlikely to be salvageable and will follow a natural recovery trajectory.

Federal and state assistance requests

Hubright said the Forestry Commission requested a timber‑block grant through the governor’s appeal to Congress; the commission had not finalized payment amounts at the hearing. The agency also submitted a supplemental request to the U.S. Forest Service (nearly $13,000,000 total in the submission) that would fund firefighting equipment purchases (including five heavy dozer units and three wildland fire engines), leases, urban tree planting, and landowner assistance.

Other operational notes

Panel members noted the logistics challenges: some salvage operations were possible within days in accessible areas while remote or steep tracts will be left to natural recovery. Committee members volunteered to coordinate with agency staff to identify county‑level damage not captured in the initial report. DNR and the Forestry Commission said they will provide lists of local foresters and field contacts to members who requested them.

Ending: Officials said they will update the committee as federal funding decisions are made and as the timber‑block payments and salvage programs are implemented.