NC tree farm loses hundreds of Christmas trees due to Helene, impacting loyal customers

ByNeydja Petithomme, WLOS CNNWire logo
Friday, December 6, 2024
Durham pop-up Christmas tree lots support farms in WNC
Western North Carolina is home to one of the largest suppliers of Christmas trees in the country. It's also the area hit hardest by Hurricane Helene.

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. -- Boyd Mountain Christmas Tree Farm in Waynesville lost 200 to 300 Christmas trees in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

"We did have a lower line field that completely got flooded. They were kind of sitting sideways, not sure if they're going to make it or not, it's questionable," Stephanie Underwood, the office manager, said.

The farm has more than 100,000 trees, and each year, farm workers bed about 13,000 to 14,000 trees.

Underwood emphasizes that the aftermath of Helene impacted many families throughout the county and the nation.

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"We may have lost a few customers, our faithful people that come from Tennessee, or course could not get here because of the interstate closure," said Underwood.

Boyd Mountain Christmas Tree Farm will further assess the damage more than 2 months after storm Helene.

"We can replant the area as they die, if we do see that they're gone, we will cut them down and re-plant there," Underwood said.

Sunday, Dec. 15 is the last day to purchase trees.

Featured video is from a previous report.

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