Josh Stein on ‘24 Hours of Rainfall That Changed the Region Forever’

One year after Hurricane Helene, Gov. Josh Stein struggles to keep his emotions in check when he talks about the story that sticks with him the most from the storm.

Stein said he stopped six months ago at the fire department in Fairview to commemorate the lives lost as a result of the hurricane. While there, he met surviving members of the Craig family, who lost 11 relatives to a mudslide. They represented more than 10 percent of the 108-person death toll in North Carolina.

“One family lost 11 members. Just being with them and their sorrow and pain…” Stein paused, trying to collect himself. 

“Yeah, it’s something that I’ll never forget.”

The Assembly caught up with Stein over the phone to talk about the road to recovery in Western North Carolina, what gives him hope, and the stories that have stuck with him. This Q&A has been lightly edited for brevity: 

One thing you said a while ago that stood out to me was that elected officials are never going to meet the needs of Western North Carolina compared to the people who are doing that work on the ground. Between you, Congress, and the legislature, what more can be done?

The people of Western North Carolina are truly inspiring, and the way they rallied to each other’s needs in the immediate aftermath and then in the months that followed has been incredibly impressive. They’re acting with urgency, they’re acting with dedication, they’re acting with compassion. And we as policymakers have to bring that same level of intensity to our work.

That’s what I’m trying to do as governor. Every daily call starts with an update from my head of the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina. Every cabinet meeting starts with an update on where things are with Western North Carolina recovery. So I’m giving it focus and giving it attention, and we’re working as hard as we can. …

The federal government has been a valuable partner in our work. I am grateful for every dollar that we’ve gotten, and it’s over $6 billion. But when the scale of the damage is as immense as it was in Western North Carolina, $60 billion, we need a lot more help. 

That’s why I was in Washington, D.C., last week, meeting with our congressional delegation and meeting with the OMB [Office of Management and Budget] and the Trump administration to urge them to appropriate an additional $13.5 billion to help the people of Western North Carolina get back in their homes, reopen their businesses, fix their vital infrastructure, and support local governments that are down a lot of revenue.

What came out of that? Are you optimistic that there’s going to be a federal bill that gets more money into Western North Carolina?

I’m hopeful. I think it’s very clear what the need is. They understand the scale of the damage. They understand the reality of the needs. The question is timing. 

They went from the reconciliation law to now they’re trying to keep the government open. But my hope is that they push, if not in this government funding bill, the next one, a disaster relief package to help Western North Carolina. They need these funds now. If they keep pushing it off year after year, then the funds are just that much less valuable.

You called out Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in late July, and then more Federal Emergency Management Agency money moved. What have you found to be the most effective approach to secure federal funds?

There’s a lot of red tape in government. I mean, there is a lot of bureaucracy. 

But I have been pleased with the Trump administration’s support in the last couple months, whether it’s Homeland Security and FEMA or it’s the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] or it’s DOT [Department of Transportation] or it’s any other federal agency that is playing an important role in our recovery. 

We’re going to continue to need to push them to move dollars through their approval process quicker because the money is needed now.

What can North Carolinians do to help Western North Carolina?

They can certainly let Congress know and our congressional delegation know that we need more money and they need to make sure that North Carolina gets its fair share…

The second thing that people across North Carolina can do is just go visit Western North Carolina and have a blast because it is a special place.

Give me three places that you think people have to visit in that region.

Catawba Falls and Old Fort are beautiful because you can go have a nice, moderate hike, see amazing falls, and then go have some great beer at Hillman Beer…

I’ve been going to Asheville my whole life, but going on that e-bike tour [rentals through Flying Bike Tours], I was able to see parts of the city that I’d never been to before, and that was great…

In Marshall, North Carolina, there’s a great little hotel, bar, and restaurant called the Old Marshall Jail Hotel. It’s right on the French Broad River, just absolutely beautiful, and it’s a blast. The owner, Josh Copus, is a great guy. Right around the corner is a craft store [Flow], where I got a beautiful lamp for the Western Residence. Just incredible crafts, incredible people, incredible beauty.

You’re going back to the region this weekend. What’s the message you most want to send to people who are hurting and still trying to heal a year later?

There’s going to be just a wash of emotions. 

The storm and its impact was so traumatic that I think a lot of people who have put their heads down to just focus on getting back on their feet and pouring every bit of energy and every resource they have at their disposal into reopening their businesses and fixing their homes, this is going to force a lot of people to just remember the night and the 24 hours of rainfall that changed the region forever.