When the first of three snow and ice storms hit Kentucky on Feb. 10, Kentucky Emergency Management activated its State Emergency Operations Center. In the following days and weeks, the Energy and Environment Cabinet and the Public Service Commission staffed the center, providing hour-by-hour relief coordination.
Each year, members of the Kentucky Division of Forestry’s wildland firefighter team volunteer to fight fires in various parts of the U.S., outside of Kentucky’s fire seasons, when wildfires overwhelm local resources. Recently, 23 firefighters deployed to Texas to assist with wildfire suppression.
Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a new and concerning malady that has thrown Kentucky’s Forest Health a double-punch: the impact of late-season hard freeze on trees and vegetation. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet’s Division of Forestry has been monitoring the damage, and it appears to be statewide in scope.