Area Ravaged By Wildfires

By Gordon HopkinsHigh winds and low humidity contributed to numerous wildfires that broke out throughout Southeast Nebraska and Northeast Kansas. Those fires kept local fire departments on the run, providing mutual aid to other counties. Last week, the National Weather Service in Omaha issued a Fire Weather Warning, “A combination of very low relative humidity and strong winds will bring very high to extreme fire weather conditions across much of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa this afternoon and evening. Be sure to avoid outdoor burning (things such as bonfires), do not park vehicles in the grass, don’t toss cigarettes outside, and be careful with equipment that may spark while working outdoors.”Farmers in the area are deep into harvest season. Crop stubble is a particularly efficient fuel for fires. In addition, winds were forecasted to be 15 to 25 mph (miles per hour), with gusts up to 40 mph and relative humidity expected to be as low As 18 percent. According to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, “Combine and crop fires are more likely to occur on days when wind speeds are 20 mph or greater, temperatures are 90 degrees or above and the relative humidity is 30 percent or below.Saturday morning, Fairbury Rural Fire posted a request on Facebook that farmers temporarily cease harvesting, “If you are still harvesting, it is strongly suggested to stop for the day. If you have an incident, there may not be any response or a very delayed response as firefighters are busy with multiple wildland fires in our area. Please avoid these areas as the fires are very fast moving and smoke is low, obscuring visibility creating a hazard beyond the fire itself.” Five separate fires broke out in Gage County.On Saturday, multiple agencies responded to a large wildfire in crop ground south of Odell on the Nebraska/Kansas border. According to Odell Volunteer Fire and Rescue, at approximately 1:04 p.m., fire fighters were dispatched to Southwest 61st Road and Stateline Road, “Upon arrival the fire was started in a bean field and quickly jumped the road to the north into a standing corn field.”Due to strong southwest winds, the balze eventually crossed Southwest 61st Road before being stopped just south of West Willow Road. The fire narrowly missed two houses in the path.A total of 11 departments were called to the fire, including Odell, Diller, Wymore, Barneston, Blue Springs, Steele City and Logan Township in Nebraska, and Hanover, Marysville, Oketo and Hollenberg in Kansas.While firefighters were there, the north half of the county was battling a large fire southwest of Adams. Residents of a nursing home in Adams has to be evacuated.During these two fires, another large wildfire developed just north of Holmesville. Taylor McHenry, Chief of Barneston Rural Volunteer Fire department reported, “That fire had a pretty good head start on all of us considering all responding departments were coming directly from other fires with great distance in between. Luckily even though this fire was so large, the hard work, dedication, and commitment of multiple volunteer departments and the team work that was demonstrated allowed us all to leave with our heads held high and a win in our hearts.” Two firefighters were reportedly injured while fighting fires. One sustained an ankle injury while dismounting a truck and another was injured when a window on a brush truck shattered, covering that person with glass. No further details are available at this time.Firefighters from Jefferson, Lancaster and Johnson County assisted Gage County firefighters.It was not just fire departments that helped out. Chief McHenry pointed out, “Tonight as I sit here reflecting on this weekends events, all I can be is proud. Proud of our firefighters. Proud of our mutual aid partners across the county. Proud of our firefighters’ families who support our guys and gals while they selflessly serve our communities. And for the work they do behind the scenes like gathering donations, food, and drinking water while we work extended incidents. Proud of Farmers Cooperative and the other businesses that provided water trucks and support. Proud of our neighbors, our friends and the strangers who show up with their personal equipment like tractors, disc, and dirt moving equipment without hesitation to assist where they can. None of us volunteer departments could do what we do without the support we receive from all of the above.” On Sunday, firefighters from Beatrice Rural Fire, Filley, Blue Springs, Wymore and Barneston were sent to the area of South 66th and East Lilac Road shortly after 1 p.m., where a blaze was crossing a harvested soybean field as well as unharvested corn.There were also fires across the state lines in Kansas, such as the one at Gypsum Road and 26th Road in Lowe. Jefferson County fire departments provided mutual aid.The full extent of the damage is not yet known. FJN will follow up when more information is available.

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