Sawmills recycle Hurricane Helene debris, reducing wildfire threat

Sawmills are working to recycle trees blown down by Hurricane Helene to assist wildland firefighters while boosting domestic timber production. 

Many of the trees downed by the storm are usable, according to Johnny Evans, owner of Evens Lumber Co. in Manchester, Tennessee. About 6% of the lumber produced at his facility comes from trees that fell during natural disasters.

“It’s a resource that God gave us, and we need to recycle it instead of letting it rot into the ground,” Evans said. “If we don’t get those dead trees out of the forest, then you’re going to have a forest fire. Then it’s going to wipe out all your good timber as well as your dead timber.”

There have been at least eight wildfires in areas ravaged by Hurricane Helene since the storm ripped through the Great Smoky Mountains in September. 

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The Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Division estimated it could take at least three years for the thickest trees downed by Hurricane Helene to dry out enough to become potential wildfire fuel. However, those trees can still hinder firefighting efforts by getting in the way of bulldozers used to create firelines. 

“Those trees are there just blocking the dozers. So we have to send in crews to clear a path for the dozers, which is way slower than what we would ideally want to have happen,” Megan Carpenter, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Division, said. 

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture pitched in $23 million to clear dead trees from high-risk wildfire zones across the country. The dead trees will then be sold to wood processing facilities to be consolidated into soil enrichment materials, construction materials, energy sources and paper. The USDA said the effort would eliminate potential fuel for future wildfires while supporting a March executive order signed by President Trump to boost domestic timber production by 25%. 

High-risk firesheds will be cleared out first to protect already-vulnerable communities. The U.S. Forest Service is simplifying the permitting and contracting process for sawmills looking to access the timber supply.