This week, some of the stories on our show inspired college student art — including a vivid image of a bear smashing a clarinet. Also, a Hare Krishna community in West Virginia serves vegetarian food made in three sacred kitchens. And, COVID-19 exposed the contempt society has for marginalized people. One author says, these folks are anything but passive.
Two helicopters and several National Guard personnel were deployed to Hardy County on Friday.
They aim to assist the West Virginia Division of Forestry and other emergency response personnel in quenching the blazes.
The deployment of National Guard personnel follows Gov. Jim Justice’s state of emergency declaration Thursday afternoon.
The National Guard said more than 4,000 acres of land has burned as of Friday.
Helicopters in use by the National Guard can hold 630 gallons of water each, which personnel then disperse over wildfires from above. This helps target areas of the wildfires that are unsafe for emergency responders to approach on the ground.
“Our aircrews have extensive experience in helping to combat wildland fires,” said Bill Crane, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard in a press release Thursday.
“We will do all we can to help bring these fires under control to protect lives and property in the impacted communities,” he said.
Dropping water onto wildfires from above allows firefighters to extinguish fires that are unsafe for ground personnel to approach. Photo Credit: West Virginia National Guard
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President Donald Trump is again seeking to boost the struggling U.S. coal industry, announcing a plan Thursday to spend nearly $700 million to support coal-fired power plants and coal exports nationwide. It was not immediately clear exactly how much in total will be spent in West Virginia.
The Nelsonville Music Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The Ohio-based festival over the years has hosted American music icons, like John Prine, Willie Nelson and Loretta Lynn, while also supporting regional artists. Inside Appalachia’s Abby Neff spoke with festival founder Tim Peacock to learn more.
Low income West Virginia residents will soon be able to apply for emergency energy assistance to get through the summer heat if they are in danger of having service shut off.