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High gas prices threaten to shut down rural towns
Those who can least afford it are hit the worst
By Judy Keen
USA TODAY
FORKS OF SALMON, Calif. — The price of gas isn't an annoyance here. It's a calamity.
Peggy Hanley uses a generator that burns a gallon of diesel fuel every hour — at about $5 a gallon— to power Forks General Store, the only place to buy groceries for miles around. There's no electric service, so Hanley, the owner, uses the generator to run eight refrigerators, nine freezers, lights and two ice machines for the store, which has been in a trailer since a fire destroyed the original building in 1994.
