Damage Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Electricity Remains Off For Thousands Following Tuesday’s Storm

As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 76,000 Appalachian Power customers were still waiting for their power to be restored.

Tens of thousands of Appalachian Power customers remain without electricity after Tuesday’s storm.

As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 76,000 Appalachian Power customers were still waiting for their power to be restored.

An update from the company on Wednesday morning indicated most customers in four counties – Boone, Logan, Mingo and Raleigh – could expect to have their power back by 11 p.m. Wednesday.

It also said most customers in Cabell, Clay, Fayette, Greenbrier, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Mason, Nicholas, Putnam, Roane and Wayne counties could expect restoration by 11 p.m. Thursday.

More than 2,200 workers are part of that effort, the utility said, including 1,300 line workers from several surrounding states.

They’re dealing with downed trees, broken or damaged poles and transformers, and wires on the ground.

Customers can check their outage status, view an outage map, report an outage or sign up for outage alerts at AppalachianPower.com.

Appalachian Power is an underwriter of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration Aids 5 Flood-Affected Counties

Residents in Boone, Calhoun, Clay, Harrison and Kanawha counties can apply for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

President Joe Biden has issued a major disaster declaration for five West Virginia counties affected by flooding in late August.

Residents in Boone, Calhoun, Clay, Harrison and Kanawha counties can apply for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

They can receive grants for temporary housing and home repairs, as well as low-interest loans for uninsured property losses.

Homeowners and business owners can apply by registering with FEMA, by using the FEMA app or by calling 1-800-621-3362.

U.S. Senator Capito Visits Site of Harpers Ferry Fire

Harpers Ferry Mayor, Gregory Vaughn shows U.S. Senator, Shelley Moore Capito the fire wreckage in Harpers Ferry.

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito visited Harpers Ferry Thursday to look at the wreckage left by a fire last week.

It’s been one week since a massive fire devastated four historic buildings containing eight shops and two apartments in the commercial district of Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry Mayor, Gregory Vaughn said Monday the damage affected nearly half of commercial businesses in the town.

During the week, Vaughn held talks with affected shop owners and with state officials to discuss rebuilding. On Thursday, Vaughn met with U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito to give her a tour of the wreckage.

Capito said during the tour that getting things back to normal would require all hands on deck, but that finding the funds to restore the historic buildings, shouldn’t be too difficult.

“It’s going to be a little bit easier lift, because there’s such intertwined with national resources and treasurers, you know the National Park and all the historic preservation in and around this area,” Capito noted, “And so, you know, we’re gonna work with whatever department we can, make those phone calls, hopefully we can shake some trees.”

The West Virginia Fire Marshal’s office says the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Harpers Ferry Blaze Caused About $2 Million in Damage

A state fire official says a fire in Harpers Ferry’s commercial area caused about $2 million in damage.

Assistant state fire marshal George Harms tells The Herald-Mail that the cause of the fire hasn’t been determined.

The fire occurred on Thursday and destroyed four buildings that housed eight businesses and two apartments.

Harpers Ferry Mayor, Gregory Vaughn says the damage affected nearly half of commercial businesses in the town and says for the 280 residents, it was a major setback. However, despite the loss, tourists turned out in large numbers over the weekend. Vaughn says shops and restaurants unaffected by the fire were packed with people.

Vaughn also says there’s been an overwhelming amount of support shown nationally.

“It’s uplifting, and I think that that has given us the strength and courage to move forward and further defining what we need to do to return historic Harpers Ferry,” Vaughn said.

Harpers Ferry officials met on Saturday to discuss the fire’s impact and rebuilding.

The buildings were constructed in the 1800s.

Harpers Ferry sits on a peninsula at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle. The town was the site of a failed raid on a federal arsenal in 1859 by abolitionist John Brown. The attack raised public tensions before the Civil War.