FEMA officials say Hurricane Milton won't impact resources for Helene
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- As Hurricane Milton continues churning towards Florida, ABC11 spoke with federal officials about what that might mean for the ongoing disaster response in western North Carolina.
Communities across the mountains continue to rely on donations and federal support as they rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
"I'm not sure what the future holds. I mean, it's only been a week and it's still kind of too early to tell," Adam Charnack, co-founder of Hi-Wire Brewing, said.
Hi-Wire's three locations were staples in Asheville before they expanded into the Triangle with their Durham taproom in 2018. Helene gutted the brewery's operation in the mountains, destroying their River Arts District beer garden and 80% of their beer.
"Corporate offices were there, the building was kind of like the heart of the company, basically. I mean, we had so many things in that building. It was all washed away," Charnack said.
Hi-Wire has already applied for help from FEMA. Charnack said they're very grateful for the community's support in the last 10 days but he knows this level of attention may not last, especially with Category 5 Milton powering towards the Florida coast.
"That's truly I think where the government can help," he said. "Donations are coming in fast. They're coming in strong now. But we we know they're going to they're going to peter off. I mean, they're not going to last forever."
But, FEMA officials are adamant -- they're in North Carolina to stay.
"This is a very robust response here in North Carolina, and that's not going to change," FEMA spokesperson John Mills said.
Mills is part of FEMA's Incident Management Assistance Team. He states that the arrival of Hurricane Milton will not affect the amount of resources the agency allocates to Western North Carolina.
"We already had hundreds and hundreds of FEMA personnel in Florida because of previous hurricanes, including Helene," Mills said. "And now we're bringing in more resources there. But that is not doing anything to change the response here in North Carolina."
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is scheduled to address the media at 8:30 on Tuesday morning about "rumors and false information being spread ahead of Milton".
