There are many ways to be heroic. Some of them are death-defying—like rushing into a burning forest to save hundreds of strangers—but some aren’t, and even talking someone down from a panic attack, or offering a ride in the middle of a wildfire, can pay dividends in serendipitous, even life-saving ways.

On this week’s Valley Edition: We continue our podcast Escape From Mammoth Pool. This week: the heroes, big and small, who helped more than 200 campers survive being trapped by the Creek Fire.

Plus, the strain on local hospitals as they cope with the latest surge of COVID-19.   

And a never-before seen art exhibition is headed to the Bakersfield Museum of Art. Listen to these stories and more in the podcast above. 

Yet again, Central Valley hospitals are overflowing with COVID-19 patients, which has stretched our medical systems thin and created disturbing consequences for anyone in need of critical care. To learn more about how hospitals are coping with the most recent surge, Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with Donna Hefner, president and CEO of Sierra View Medical Center in Porterville, Dr. Danielle Campagne, medical director of American Ambulance, Dr. Robert Ferdman, assistant chief of hospital medicine at Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center, and Dr.

A never-before-seen collection of works by contemporary art legends like David Hockney, Helmut Newton and Jean-Michel Basquiat is headed to the Bakersfield Museum of Art. The exhibition, titled “On The Edge,” is comprised of more than 150 objects from the private collection of LA-based art enthusiasts Joan and Jack Quinn. In advance of the exhibition’s opening on Sept. 30, Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke to Joan Quinn about the close friendships she enjoys with many of these artists and why she wants to exhibit their works here in the Central Valley.  

Six-year-old Bryce Moore shouts from one side of the small soccer field where he is practicing for his first game. His mom, Fresno resident Jennifer Moore, describes him as a happy, go-lucky kid. But nine months ago he was anything but that, she says. 

Moore and her husband tested positive for COVID-19 in November 2020. She says Bryce, then 5 years old, tested negative and didn’t show any symptoms associated with the virus. 

The KNP Complex Fire, which started Thursday after lightning strikes, has burned just over 3000 acres in the Sequoia National Park. There are two fires making up the complex, the Colony Fire located near Crystal Cave Road and the larger Paradise Fire near Paradise Ridge, northeast of Mineral King. 

In last week’s episode, campers were in the throes of panic and chaos as they prepared to evacuate their campground. This week, they navigate two miles down a narrow, winding dirt road, its perils made all the more dangerous by the oppressive smoke and encroaching flames from the Creek Fire.

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