05/19/2026
What a weekend!
Laura at Team Rubicon reached out months ago looking for help with a debris plan for a neighborhood in Buncombe County with acres of Helene blowdown.
20 months on from Helene, we still see so many places where downed trees and other debris cause increased risk of wildfire intensity. In this neighborhood, snags that died during the storm line the narrow road which provides the only vehicle access to homes. Each new storm, however small, brings forth trauma and fear that emergency access will be blocked.
Our friends at Full Circle Forestry (https://www.instagram.com/fullcircleforestry/) felled the trees posing the biggest risk to the road, and Team Rubicon bucked up some of the hundreds of downed trees between houses. Our crew processed 8 truckloads (and counting!) of firewood to bring to firewood banks and residents in Buncombe and Madison Counties.
Together we are more than the sum of our parts. This is a project that would not have happened without collaboration. Thank you Team Rubicon and Full Circle for joining Mountain Valleys for such an inspiring weekend!
