North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein began his first term earlier this month with a behemoth task in front of him: Helping western North Carolina recover from close to $60 billion in damage from Hurricane Helene,

North Carolina officials charged with leading recovery efforts in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene — as well as parts of eastern North Carolina still struggling from previous hurricanes — told state lawmakers this week that they need more money.

Two fires are now burning in western North Carolina's McDowell County, just four months after it was hard-hit by Hurricane Helene.