FEMA kicks hurricane survivors out of temporary housing into snowstorm and freezing temperatures
Residents of Western North Carolina are confused about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's role in helping locals with disaster recovery after Hurricane Helene.
Locals are especially confused as FEMA plans to end temporary housing assistance for about 2,000 North Carolina residents on Saturday — during a snowstorm, when temperatures across the Appalachian Mountain region are expected to be below 20 degrees.
The housing program was initially supposed to end on Friday, but FEMA pushed the deadline back to Saturday.
"I'm actually talking to several people that are losing the FEMA vouchers," Ryan McClymonds, founder of volunteer group Operation Boots on the Ground in WNC and Eastern Tennessee, told Fox News Digital on Friday. "They're terrified that they're going to have nowhere to stay for their families after today. But we did find out last night pretty late … that FEMA is extending it a whole whopping 24 hours."
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FEMA told Fox News Digital that its Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program is providing hotel rooms to thousands of Hurricane Helene survivors in WNC.
On Jan. 3, FEMA began notifying some families checked into hotel or motel rooms that they are no longer eligible for the program due to one of the following reasons: an inspection indicated their home is now habitable, they declined an inspection or FEMA has been unable to contact them to update their housing needs.
About 3,600 households will remain eligible to continue staying in hotel or motel rooms sponsored by FEMA past Saturday — up from the 2,100 eligible households reported by local news outlet WLOS on Thursday.
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Approximately 2,000 households will still be expected to move out of their hotel rooms on Saturday. Continued eligibility is determined on a case-by-case basis. When eligibility ends, FEMA notifies survivors approximately seven days prior to their checkout date.
The agency is also closing disaster recovery centers in the area until Monday — "due to winter weather."
"Biden and Mayorkas bankrupted FEMA to pay for illegal immigrant housing, and now American citizens who lost their homes in Hurricane Helene are essentially being told to screw," Trump spokeswoman and incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. "This is unfair and arguably criminal. The good news is: President Trump will be back very soon to put Americans first again."
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FEMA said it has provided shelter to 13,000 families displaced by Helene since late September 2024, when the storm made landfall. There are currently 5,600 households currently checked into hotels, the agency told Fox News Digital.
"We got this notification on our phone, I think it was yesterday … which was the severe weather notification," Swannanoa-area resident Asha Wild told Fox News Digital. "We are told to expect power outages and possibly water outages. Yeah, I'm not thrilled about that. And in the cold."
Wild lost her house to nine feet of flooding when Helene destroyed areas of her hometown and dozens of others in the mountains, leaving 104 dead in North Carolina alone.
Power grids and other critical infrastructure are still very fragile in some areas after Helene, and residents are concerned that they could again be left without power, water, gas and even food. Volunteers in Western North Carolina and across the state have been volunteering in affected areas for months. Generous donors across the country have paid for and delivered campers to those who need housing and storage.
Long lines of vehicles can be seen lining up to get propane and other necessities from various donation drives in the area.
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WATCH: Volunteers in North Carolina donate propane to those impacted by Helene
Zach Bumgarner, vice president of Bumgarner Oil, told Fox News Digital that his company has "given away 22,000 gallons of product since the storm hit." They have hosted six propane drives since late September, allowing people to bring empty propane cylinders to designated locations, where his company fills them up for free.
"You do have people in tents and you do have temporary shelters and that kind of thing. And then you throw really cold temperatures on top of it, and it does make for a dangerous situation," Bumgarner said. "So, hopefully what we're doing is helping kind of bridge some of those gaps a little bit and maybe keep somebody warm. That's really what we're trying to do."
WATCH: Drivers line up for propane
Wild said she asked her friend, who works at a local grocery store she's been going to for 18 years, how things were going.
"He said, ‘Yeah, people are kind of losing their minds.’ And I could tell it was cleaned out," Wild said.
Steve Antle, a retired Asheville police officer who has been in contact with Fox News Digital since the day after Hurricane Helene destroyed parts of WNC, said some areas are recovering well while others remain "frozen in time." Even wealthy neighborhoods still have piles of debris and trees down, he said.
Antle has partnered with others in and outside his community to buy and deliver thousands of dollars worth of critical supplies across his hometown of Fairview and surrounding towns since immediately after the hurricane.
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Some locals are still living in tents or campers, mostly because they do not want to leave their property. Others are still without heat and power, he said.
"I don't know what goes into their thinking," Antle said of the agency. "You know, I want to think that it's government incompetence because that's the better alternative. … And I hate to think that."
McClymonds, of Operation Boots on the Ground, became emotional when describing the people he has been helping since September.
"Don't forget about them," he said. "I saw a lot while I was in the military. And coming out here and seeing the lack of response and the lack of help is so heartbreaking. I've prayed with I don't know how many people. I've heard and held so many family members. They have lost a whole lot and work hand-in-hand with family members that have lost their loved ones due to the storm. And they're tired. And they need help."
FEMA said it is important for storm survivors to keep in touch with FEMA and provide regular status updates. Those who have questions regarding eligibility should contact the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-3362.