Hurricane Helene Forestry Damage Reports Released

Forest damage throughout Georgia and the Carolinas from Hurricane Helene totaled more than 2.3 million acres. The North Carolina Forest Service reported 822,000 acres of timberland were destroyed, with 78% on private land, 21% on public land, and 1% on parkland. South Carolina’s Forestry Commission assessed the damage to timber value alone was $83 million across 20 counties. The hurricane damage to Georgia’s timberland was estimated at 1.47 million acres, valued at$1.28 billion, according to the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources. See ABC News, South Carolina Forestry Commission, and GFC Timber Damage Assessment