Campus Alert Archive
Wofford

120 Trees, Some Over a Century Old: Wofford's Helene Eyewall Encounter

SChurricaneemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Wofford College, a small private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, SC, found itself in the eyewall of Hurricane Helene's track on September 27, 2024. The college canceled in-person classes for Friday, September 27 and crews remained on campus through the storm. More than 120 trees were downed or damaged beyond repair, some over 100 years old. Power was out to much of campus as of 10 AM EDT on Saturday, September 28. Wofford opened campus spaces for hot showers and device charging while classes remained suspended. The academic calendar was preserved — fall break ran October 17-18 as planned.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Wofford College
Private Liberal Arts · SC
~1,800 studentsWofford Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction220 chars
Wofford Alert: Classes will not meet in person on Friday, September 27, due to Hurricane Helene. Residential students should shelter in their rooms during the storm. Essential staff remain on campus. Updates will follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from the Wofford 'In the wake of Hurricane Helene' news post and the Wofford Terriers Athletics announcement that Helene 'is expected to have the greatest impact on the region in the early morning hours of Friday, September 27'
Wofford's pre-storm communications emphasized in-residence shelter rather than evacuation — typical for inland SC institutions outside coastal evacuation zones
Issued Thursday afternoon to give the campus community several hours to prepare for an overnight peak-impact window
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction241 chars
Wofford Alert: Significant tree damage across campus. More than 100 trees down. Power remains out to much of campus. Stay away from downed power lines and limbs. Hot showers and charging stations are open in Burwell. Classes remain canceled.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from Wofford's news post which documented 120+ downed trees and the opening of Burwell Building as a charging and shower location
The opening of designated indoor spaces for showers and device charging is a Helene-specific response feature shared across Upstate SC private colleges during the multi-day power outage
Wofford's official messaging emphasized the historic significance of lost trees — some over 100 years old — reflecting the campus's identity as a tree-canopy arboretum
Context

Background

Wofford College's 175-acre campus in Spartanburg, SC sits roughly 35 miles east of the Blue Ridge escarpment, and on Friday, September 27, 2024 the campus was inside what Wofford's communications team described as the eyewall of Hurricane Helene's track. Classes were canceled the day before, athletics events postponed, and grounds, facilities and residence life staff stayed on campus through the storm. The morning of Saturday, September 28 revealed more than 120 trees down or damaged beyond repair, with over 70 trees still on the ground hours after the storm per Athletics' reporting. Power remained out to most of campus through that morning. Wofford's response opened indoor spaces in Burwell for hot showers and device charging — a hospitality function the college has institutionalized for hurricane recoveries. Building damage was minimal; water-and-wind damage to a handful of buildings was still being evaluated but most appeared light. The campus's strongest visible loss was its historic tree canopy, with several century-old specimens uprooted. Academically, Wofford preserved the fall calendar — fall break remained scheduled for October 17-18 — and the college reported full operational recovery within roughly a week of the storm.
Analysis

Key Findings

Wofford's positioning relative to Helene's track — described as 'the eyewall' by college communications — makes it one of the most directly hit four-year colleges in South Carolina, alongside Furman (Greenville) and USC Upstate (Spartanburg)
The 120+ tree loss is a documented benchmark of Helene's Upstate SC impact at the campus scale; comparable to Furman's hundreds of trees but on a smaller acreage, making the per-acre tree loss arguably more concentrated
Wofford's preservation of its academic calendar — no makeup days, no exam reschedules — represents an institutional choice to absorb the lost instructional days rather than compress the semester, a different choice from larger SC publics
Outcome
120+ trees lost on the 175-acre campus. Minimal building damage. Classes canceled September 27; campus operations reduced for several days. Power and water restored campus-wide within roughly a week. Academic calendar preserved — no makeup days needed.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    In the wake of Hurricane Helene (Wofford College News)
    wofford.edu
  2. Official
    Hurricane Helene Impacts Wofford Athletics Events (Wofford Terriers Athletics)
    woffordterriers.com
  3. Official
    Perspectives on the storm (Wofford Today)
    wofford.edu
  4. Official
    Emergency Alerts (Wofford College Campus Safety)
    wofford.edu
  5. News
    Tropical Storm Helene: September 26-27, 2024 (NWS Wilmington)
    weather.gov
Tags
hurricanehurricane-helenesouth-carolinaprivate-liberal-artstree-damagepower-outagespartanburgwofford
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion