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May 22, 2011

Marfa pubradio made "difference between life and death" in Texas wildfires, story says

Marfa Public Radio continues to win praise for its April coverage of massive wildfires, the latest coming via a Texas Tribune story in today's (May 22) New York Times. "Had MPR not been around on April 9, when an electrical malfunction in a former storefront less than two miles west of downtown Marfa ignited the largest wildfire in Texas history, it might have meant the difference between life and death for some West Texans," it notes.

“It was like standing at the mouth of hell,” said Anne Adkins, MPR’s office manager. “We didn’t have a news team, so we became the news team.”

According to the story, half of the station's $250,000 budget comes from CPB. A membership drive that was "all but derailed by the wildfire," the story says, actually turned out to be the station’s most successful ever, raising more than $85,000.

The station posted a wildfire wrapup on May 21.