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North Carolina Governor Josh Stein marked his 100th day in office on Thursday with a visit to Asheville.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — North Carolina Governor Josh Stein marked his 100th day in office on Thursday with a visit to Asheville, where he addressed local government officials about ongoing Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.

Speaking to an audience of county commissioners, mayors, city councilors, and local government staff, Stein acknowledged the six-month anniversary of the devastating storm that caused an estimated $60 billion in damages across western North Carolina.

"You've been doing it for over six months now," Stein told local officials. "I know it's exhausting, and I know that when you raised your hand to serve your community, you had no idea what you were signing up for."

The governor highlighted several recovery milestones and praised the March passage of a bipartisan $524 million aid package for western North Carolina.

But, he emphasized, additional funding is needed. "That bill is nowhere near enough, but it is enough to get started," he said, announcing plans to send a second Helene budget proposal to the General Assembly focused on housing needs, small business support, local government revenue replacement, and wildfire prevention.

The governor also addressed federal assistance, noting that North Carolina was the first Helene-impacted state to submit its action plan to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which would release $1.6 billion in previously allocated funds.

"We want to expand the housing construction that we intend to start this summer with the state money," Stein said, adding that the goal is to begin home reconstruction by late summer—a timeline he described as unprecedented for post-hurricane recovery.

During his address, Stein shared his recent visits with families who lost loved ones in the storm, including members of the Craig family, who lost 11 relatives including Battalion Chief Tony Garrison. The governor highlighted how Garrison's son Dylan is training to become a firefighter himself to honor his father's legacy.

Stein also expressed concern about recent wildfire threats in several western counties and stressed the need for preventative measures alongside ongoing recovery work.

"Above all, we need to know and understand what it means to truly rebuild," Stein said. "We have to have a holistic understanding of what it takes for communities to thrive."

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Asheville Citizen Times

ASHEVILLE - The U.S. Forest Service will soon have to release plans to increase timber production in national forests, including Western North Carolina's wide and expansive Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests and other forests across the south. While a Forest Service administrator described the effort as a "new era" in public land management, legal organizations are already teeing up possible litigation against the plans.

On April 3, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins issued a memo establishing an "Emergency Situation Determination" for over 112 million acres of U.S. Forest Service land and ordering the agency to expand the forests' timber production by 25%. The memo also directed the Forest Service to "expediate" work necessary to increase timber production and the removal of some National Environmental Policy Act processes.

The determination applies to over 58% of national forest land and includes WNC's Pisgah and Nantahala forests, which had already seen projected increases in timber harvesting in the 2023 Pisgah-Nantahala national forest plan and recent litigation over said plan. Rollins' memo follows a March 1 executive order from President Donald Trump that instructed the Forest Service to increase timber production on national forest land.

After Rollins' memo was released, Acting Associate National Forest Service Chief Christopher French called the directive a "new era" that is "marked by pressing issues like a growing demand for domestic lumber and wildfire resistance" in a letter to all regional foresters and forest service deputy chiefs.

The letter orders regional foresters to develop a plan to increase timber harvesting after the national Trump-administration backed strategy is released. That plan is expected in the next 30 days, French wrote, leaving regional administrators like U.S. Forest Service South Regional Forester Sam Arney, who oversees national forest land across North Carolina and 12 other states, just two months to come up with plans to increase regional timber harvesting.

Several projects and plans from the Forest Service in WNC, including the 2023 Nantahala-Pisgah national forest plan, have been contested by a coalition of southern conservation organizations represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center. Several lawsuits remain pending in federal court, where the conservation nonprofits have sued to preserve the habitats of rare native plant and animal species and maintain old growth forests, among other things.

In a statement April 4, Sam Evans, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, said the nonprofit is planning on pushing back against the memos, which he said could remove "critical guardrails that protect key wildlife habitats, important ecosystems, and popular recreation and backcountry areas."

"This move, which comes under the guise of an emergency declaration, would also undermine key environmental laws and restrict the public’s ability to push back on bad projects in our public lands," Evans said.

"These drastic and senseless changes will have a significant impact on our national forests, including those in the South. SELC is evaluating all our options to fight this harmful move that will do long-lasting damage to these beloved places," Evans continued.

In an emailed statement, a USDA spokesperson said the Forest Service will "fulfill the Secretary’s vision of productive and resilient national forests outlined in the memorandum" and "will streamline forest management efforts, reduce burdensome regulations, and grow partnerships to support economic growth and sustainability." The USDA did not respond to questions regarding possible legal challenges to Rollins' memorandum.

With the Forest Service selling an average of nearly 3 million board feet between 2014-2023, a 25% increase would bring sales to over 3.7 million board feet a year. In 2024, the SELC brought a lawsuit alleging that the Forest Service's "timber targets" — meaning national goals for logging sales — break the National Environmental Policy Act.

The SELC has previously sued or threatened to sue the Forest Service for violating federal law in WNC, including NEPA, the National Forest Management Act and the Endangered Species Act. As recently as July 2024, Forest Service administrators capitulated to demands from a group of conservation organizations represented by the SELC, scrapping plans to log a 15-acres tract of old growth forest in WNC.

Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected] or message will_hofmann.1 on Signal. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

April's full moon is coming soon, bringing Easter with it.

In March, the United States saw a "Blood Worm Moon," the first total lunar eclipse in almost three years. April's full Pink Moon, the first of the official spring season, is used to determine the date of Easter. It is also a "micromoon" according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

Here's what to know about April's unique full moon and more.

When is the next full moon?

The 2025 Pink Moon will rise at 8:22 p.m. on April 12.

What is a micromoon?

Many stargazers know what a supermoon is. A micromoon, as you may or may not have guessed, is the exact opposite of a supermoon. April's full moon will occur just before reaching apogee, the point when the moon is farthest from Earth, on April 13 at 6:49 p.m.

As the full moon is occurring about 22 hours before the apogee, it will appear slightly smaller and dimmer than usual.

What is the Paschal Moon?

As well as being a micromoon, April's full moon has another special feature - religious significance. The Almanac explains that in Christianity, it is known as the Lenten Moon if it occurs before the spring equinox, or the Paschal Moon if it occurs afterwards.

The full moon also sets the date for Easter. In 2025, April's full moon occurs after the spring equinox, making it a Paschal Moon. This is also why Easter is particularly late this year - the holiday is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon occurring on or after the spring equinox, this year on March 20.

When was the last full moon?

The last full moon was March's Blood Worm Moon. The Worm Moon was at peak illumination on March 14. February's full moon, the Snow Moon, peaked on Feb. 12.

Why is it called the Pink Moon?

No, April's full moon won't appear pink. Compared to moon names like December's "Cold Moon," April's title is a bit abstract. In fact, the name comes from an early spring bloom that can be spotted in N.C. and other parts of eastern North America. Creeping phlox, also called moss phlox and moss pink, is in full bloom around April's full moon.

Commonly-used monthly moon names are derived from Native American traditions, though the Almanac adds that some names for the monthly moons are derived from Colonial American and European folklore.

Alternative moon names for the Pink Moon also refer to various features of the dawn of spring. Names listed by the Almanac include:

Full moon names 2025

Here's a list of the full moon names, courtesy of the Old Farmer's Almanac:

Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected].

More than 8 million people are under red flag warnings Wednesday, as firefighters continue to fight wildfires in the Carolinas.

In addition to the Carolinas, wildfire risk is spread throughout Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and northern Georgia. The major cities that are currently under threat include: Atlanta; Asheville, North Carolina; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Hagerstown, Maryland.

The critical fire conditions are a result of warm temperatures combined with strong winds in excess of 15 mph and relative humidity of 25% to 30%.

The highest fire threat Wednesday will be on the east side of the Appalachians, where westerly downsloping winds will dry out the landscape even more.

Another factor increasing the fire threat are downed trees and dry vegetation left behind by damage from Hurricane Helene last year. The hurricane swept through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and western parts of North Carolina, killing almost 250 people.

The hurricane particularly did damage in a mountainous North Carolina county where monstrous floodwaters engulfed homes.

As of Wednesday morning, there were at least five active wildfires in the state, according to an interactive map by the North Carolina Forest Service. The fires are in Polk, Caldwell and Swain counties, according to the map.

Earlier this week, North Carolina officials issued a statewide burn ban.

"Just because we saw rain in parts of the state yesterday does not mean we are out of the woods yet," the North Carolina Department of Public Safety said in a statement on X on Tuesday. "High fire danger conditions will persist this week with low relative humidity and gusty winds drying out fuels and creating conditions for rapid fire growth and spread."

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said over the weekend that the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a grant to help the state respond to the blazes.

“Fire risk still remains high across NC — residents please continue to pay attention to emergency alerts and evacuation orders,” Stein wrote on X on Tuesday.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency over the weekend and also issued a statewide burn ban as firefighters battle the Table Rock Fire in Pickens County.

"Anyone who violates this ban can and will go to jail," McMaster said in a statement.

Other parts of the nation are expected to endure severe weather this week. In portions of southern and southeast Texas, there is a moderate flood risk Wednesday and Thursday. By Friday, the flood risk will shift north and east to include Houston to Baton Rouge.

On Sunday, hail, high winds and tornadoes are expected from central Ohio down to eastern Texas. And Monday, 45 million people are at risk of damaging winds from the Gulf Coast to the mid-Atlantic.

Kathryn Prociv

Kathryn Prociv is a senior meteorologist and producer for NBC News.

Matt Lavietes

Matt Lavietes is a reporter for NBC News.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A Red Flag Warning has been issued for parts of western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina, where multiple large wildfires have burned thousands of acres.

TOUGH CONDITIONS KEEP LARGE NORTH CAROLINA WILDFIRES AT 0% CONTAINMENT MONDAY

The National Weather Service (NWS) said the warning is in effect until 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, for Cherokee, Rabun, Anderson, Habersham, Stephens, Franklin, Hart, Buncombe, Catawba, Transylvania, Henderson, Cleveland, Lincoln, Gaston, Oconee mountains, Pickens mountains, Greenville mountains, greater Oconee, greater Pickens, central Greenville, southern Greenville, northern Spartanburg, southern Spartanburg, greater Caldwell, Burke mountains, greater Burke, McDowell mountains, eastern McDowell, Rutherford mountains, Greater Rutherford, Polk mountains and eastern Polk counties.

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are occurring now or will soon.

CREWS, PROPERTY OWNERS WORK TO PROTECT STRUCTURES AS POLK COUNTY WILDFIRES GROW

The NWS said very dry air will linger across the area Tuesday, while winds will increase from the west and southwest ahead of a mostly dry cold front. Sustained winds of 10 to 20 mph, with gusts of 25 to 35 mph are expected across much of the area this afternoon.

"Winds will shift to the northwest behind the front this evening, although speeds will also begin to diminish," the NWS said. "With 10-hour fuel moisture is already less than 10 across much of the area, conditions will be favorable for the rapid spread of wildfire across much of the foothills and portions of the mountains of the Carolinas and northeast Georgia."

Several large wildfires burning in North and South Carolina have scorched about 7,000 acres.

The Black Cove and Deep Woods fires in Polk County are 2,813 and 2,742 acres, respectively, as of Monday evening, with 0% containment. North Carolina Forest Service officials say steep, rugged terrain, along with dry air and wind, have made fighting these fires challenging.

In the Upstate, the Table Rock Fire has burned 1,156 acres, and the Persimmon Ridge Fire has burned 314 acres as of Monday evening.

CODE RED AIR QUALITY ALERT EXPANDED TO MORE COUNTIES AS NORTH CAROLINA WILDFIRES GROW

The North Carolina Department of Environment Quality (NCDEQ) said a Code Red Air Quality Action Day will be in effect Tuesday for Polk, Transylvania, and Henderson counties due to wildfire smoke. A Code Orange Air Quality Action Day will be in place for Rutherford County.