Hurricane Helene did a number on the five counties that make North Carolina the second-largest Christmas tree producing state. But today there is already a sense of optimism from local farmers.
Editor’s Note: This column is adopted from a recent edition of “Billy Ball Explains N.C.”
By Billy Ball
Cardinal & Pine
Remember that scene in “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” where the Grinch realizes he can’t stop the holiday season from coming?
In this metaphor, Hurricane Helene is the Grinch and Western North Carolina’s Christmas tree farms are the holiday spirit.
I hate the phrase “perfect storm.” But if such a thing exists, Helene was that in Western North Carolina, which was already waterlogged when the storm churned through in late September 2024.
The damage it left behind was extraordinary.
Storms like these are typically a bane for N.C.’s eastern counties. But the flooding and winds that tormented Asheville and the small towns and communities around it felt Biblical to so many there. Streams and rivers—like the French Broad and New River—were already high before the storm. When the rains came, they eagerly jumped their banks.
And while no two places were hit in the exact same way, the five western NC counties that produce most of the state’s Christmas trees—Ashe, Avery, Alleghany, Watauga, and Jackson counties — all reported significant damage.
One farm in Avery County reported losing more than 60,000 trees.
Also, some roads in the high country are steep, narrow and winding under the best of conditions. Helene made many of those roads impassable, making it difficult for farms to ship trees out for the holidays.
Despite that, the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association put out a relatively optimistic statement last year. They said they did not anticipate the storm would have “a significant effect” on the overall tree supply.
“Christmas tree farmers are resilient,” they said, “and they possess the grit and determination to overcome the most challenging circumstances.”
The storm didn’t hit every farm the same. Some farms escaped any significant damage. But in others, the story was different. Trees were bent or broken. Mudslides and flooding wiped out entire hillsides.
In some places, younger trees, which were years away from harvesting, were destroyed. In others, mature trees were taken. Because of the range of ages of those trees, the Christmas tree industry will be feeling the impacts of Helene for years to come, driving up tree prices.
Because, as N.C. goes, so goes the nation to some extent. N.C. is the second largest Christmas tree producer in the country, harvesting about 3 million a year, behind only Oregon.
Our state is so good at growing trees because the highlands have the right combination of cooler temperatures, steady rainfall and good soil.
Now, the good news.
Right now, across western NC, farmers are saying that the industry is bouncing back – and fast.
Take Shepherd’s Way Farms in Laurel Springs. They won several awards at this year’s national Christmas tree competition, including the honor of delivering a tree to the vice president in 2026.
And despite Helene, the 2024 White House holiday tree was from Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm in Avery County, which reported thousands of trees lost. It marked the 16th time NC supplied the White House tree, more than any other state.
Take that, Oregon.
So if you’re getting a real tree this year, buy one from North Carolina. Support these local farmers. Keep your money in your community. That money goes from the farms and into your local businesses and schools and everywhere our tax dollars flow.
And take a minute to watch a recent episode of “Billy Ball Explains NC,” where I talked a bit more about the optimism on NC’s Christmas tree farms.
This column is adapted from a recent edition of “Billy Ball Explains NC.” Billy Ball is an award-winning journalist from North Carolina who founded The Living South, a project focused on changemakers in the American South, and a senior editor at the N.C. publication Cardinal & Pine. This column is syndicated by Beacon Media and is available to republish for free on all platforms under Beacon Media’s guidelines.