Christmas tree shortage fears as 80,000 are destroyed by floods – and industry won’t recover for 15 years
Historic flooding has left a CHRISTMAS tree farm in ruins, and the owner warns that the festive spirit could be lost for years.
In September, Hurricane Helene devastated a family’s history by uprooting 80,000 trees from the farm in North Carolina.
Owner Graham Avery told CBS station WJHL, “It’s going to be a tremendous amount of money to strip all this land back down, to take the dirt and start all over.”
“It spans several years and millions of dollars. It’s simply terrible.
Devastating photos show the Trinity Tree Company at Avery Farms in ruins after violent winds uprooted the six-generation farm and brought down trees.
The farm was among the most severely affected in the nation and is situated in the Appalachian part of the state, around two hours northwest of Charlotte.
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Each tree sold at Avery Farms, which has been in business for three generations, costs between $30 and $55.
According to Avery, the family will have to live without a “tremendous amount of money” and there is no obvious end in sight.
The heartbroken owner declared, “Even the ones that are still standing and they’re green, they’re dead,”
“They will have to leave. We’ll demolish everything you see that has water on it.
Despite having picturesque vistas of the Appalachian Mountains and being tucked away in a valley, Avery Farms exposes its farmers to the risk of flooding.
In addition to bringing rain sheets that soaked the crops, Helene also brought pollutants that ruined the soil and killed the trees.
Helicopters rescue flood victims as cars submerged and roofs ripped off by deadly Hurricane Helene
It will take fifteen long years, according to Avery, before they are prepared to sell healthy Christmas trees once more.
As the courageous farmer put it, “We’ve got to start over,”
Avery was informed by a number of agricultural experts that the family’s only option was to start afresh.
The brave farmer, however, is not deterred by the tragedy and is eager to restore the Christmas trees to their former glory.
What is a hurricane and how do they form?
A tropical cyclone, a strong storm that develops over warm ocean waters close to the equator, is also known as a hurricane.
Hurricanes are those that form in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific, whereas typhoons or cyclones are those that form in the western Pacific and Indian Ocean.
Because of the Earth’s rotation, they rotate counterclockwise north of the equator, but in the southern hemisphere, they turn in the other direction.
As water vapor evaporates from the sea, it powers cyclones, which function similarly to enormous weather engines.
A low-pressure system is created when warm, humid air rises up from the surface, drawing in air from nearby regions that is then warmed by the ocean.
Cooling as it ascends, the vapor condenses into cumulonimbus storm clouds that swirl.
The system expands and accelerates, drawing in additional air and utilizing the energy in the sun-heated seawater.
Spiraling winds of warm air rise around the storm’s core, creating a calm “eye” as cooled air sinks toward the ultra-low pressure zone below.
The central air pressure decreases with increasing wind speed, and the storm intensifies.
Since they are no longer fueled by evaporation from the warm sea, tropical cyclones typically get weaker as they approach land.
However, before the “fuel” runs out and the storm subsides, they frequently move well inland, dumping enormous volumes of rain and causing catastrophic wind damage.
When low air pressure pulls the sea level higher than usual, flooding low-lying coastlines, hurricanes can also result in storm surges.
“My grandpa started this and that was his legacy,” he stated.
“We will take everything down, even if it makes us bankrupt.
“This is our specialty. We know this. And we’re doing this in order to do it.”
Avery Farms will be offering some extra trees and wreaths for sale this year.
North Carolina is a major market for holiday decorations since it harvests more than 3 million Christmas trees annually.
Leaders in the industry are making every effort to assist revive the company that generated $144 million in revenue in 2022.
The North Carolina Christmas Tree Association’s executive director, Jennifer Greene, told CBS station WBTV that the organization is working with state agriculture to assist producers impacted by the storm.
Purchase a real Christmas tree, she advised, whether it’s from a chain store, grocery store, or retail lot, or from a choose-and-cut farm.
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Since some individuals characterized their properties as a battle zone, Helene also stole automobiles and houses.
Some famous people even claimed that the devastating storms caused them to endure “total loss.”
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