Plan to provide $1 million in fire relief for nearby residents moves to full council

A plan to spend $1 million from Winston-Salem's general fund to provide relief in the wake of the Winston Weaver fire has been passed along to the full council for a vote. 

The city's finance committee approved the money during a meeting Monday. 

Mayor Pro Tem D.D. Adams represents the North Ward, where the fire occurred. She says the disruptions caused by the blaze have placed a heavy burden on people.

“All of us have been traumatized by COVID,” she says. “But now to have been traumatized by a major fire event that could have possibly wiped out most of this side of town. I think it's incumbent upon government to help us citizens in a time of crisis.”

The money would not be in the form of direct payments to individuals but instead would be distributed by nonprofit agencies.

The possibility that hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate in the burning facility could have exploded led emergency officials to set up an evacuation area around the fire. More than 6,000 people were believed to be within that one-mile radius. 

The measure will go to the full council next week.