April 1, 2026 - The Upper Big Branch Mine Remembrance Ceremony will be held in part of Raleigh County, WV at the beginning of April.

According to a post on the Beckley Events’ Facebook page, at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, April 6, 2026, the Upper Big Branch Mine Remembrance Ceremony will take place in downtown Beckley at the Miners Memorial Garden near Shoemaker Square next to the Raleigh County Courthouse on Main Street.

The post stated that the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster took place around 1,000 feet (300 m) underground at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in Montcoal in Raleigh County on April 5, 2010. The coal dust explosion happened at 3:27 p.m. and 29 out of 31 miners died, resulting in the worst accident in the United States since 1970.

According to the post, 2026 is the 16th anniversary of the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster, and the remembrance event was lead by Mick Bates of Raleigh County, since 2011, along with the Raleigh County Commission, City of Beckley, Raleigh County and City of Beckley First Responders, and the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce.