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RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The base camps created to help western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene cost more than half a million each day to operate, the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor said Tuesday.
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According to the auditor’s office, North Carolina Emergency Management partnered with Texas-based disaster-response contractor SLSCO LTD. to establish 55 base camps after the western region was devastated by Helene in September 2024. The base camps provided essential services, including shelter, food, and showers.
The total cost of the base camps was $111 million, with daily expenses averaging $516,592 over a seven-month period, according to the auditor’s office.
The auditor’s office said major expenses included general operations, showers, food, labor, beds, laundry, medical help, restrooms, and mobilization/demobilization. One bed cost about $800 and individual meals averaged at $42, while general staff was paid $85 an hour, site coordinators received $12,100 each week, and managers had an hourly rate of $146.
According to the auditor’s office, the largest base camp was in Swannanoa, where expenses were $27 million.
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The auditor’s office recommended that NCEM track the usage rates and per-cost uses for disaster-related support services, which could help the state negotiate better costs in future contracts and ensure the resources for North Carolina residents affected by disasters are efficiently financed.
“These base camps were an essential service in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene,” State Auditor Dave Boliek said in a statement. “Now that we are in the long-term rebuilding phase of recovery, and knowing that future emergencies will strike, it is essential that we, as a state, have discussions on associated costs.
“$111 million is no small total and the absence of key metrics raises a clear need to assess how these camps are utilized and consider the full return on the expense,” he said in his statement.
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