Local Firefighters Instrumental In Battling Custer County Fires

By Gordon HopkinsMultiple fires that has burned more than 6,000 acres in Custer County has now been contained thanks to the efforts of more than 150 firefighters, including several local fire departments, and the Nebraska National Guard.The first of the fires began on Monday, February 24, and have been fueled by a combination of high winds, low humidity and dry conditions. Local FirefightersOn Feb. 25, the Fairbury Rural Fire Department (FRFD) announced, “The 3 and 33 Mutual Aid Association Wildland Task Force has been requested in Custer County to assist with the conflagration that is occurring there. FRFD along with trucks from Diller Fire and Rescue, Odell Volunteer Fire and Rescue, Barneston Rural Volunteer Fire Department, Wymore Fire and Rescue and Beatrice Rural Fire will be leaving for Custer County very early tomorrow morning, along with some extra personnel from Beatrice Rural, Plymouth Volunteer Fire Department and FRFD.”According to Fairbury Fire Chief Judd Stewart, “On Monday, Feb. 24, at 5 p.m., I received a phone call from one of the members of the Nebraska Forest Service asking if we had any resources available to send out to Custer County for several large wildfires that were burning with little containment. I activated our notification tree and within 2 (two) hours, I had commitments from 6 (six) engines with personnel to staff those engines.”Stewart told FJN, “The afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 26, I received the official Resource Order to send these engines out to Custer County, to be there by 6:30 a.m. for breakfast, briefing and resource assignments. Taylor McHenry from Barneston was appointed lead for the Task Force Deployment. The engines met at Fairbury Rural Fire Station at 2:30 a.m. to drive out as a group.”The morning that the 3&33 Mutual Aid Wildland Task Force arrived in Broken Bow, there were a total of 46 other departments there to assist with the operations on the third day of the fire. State of EmergencyOn Thursday, February 27, Governor Jim Pillen declared a State of Emergency in Custer and Dawes counties, which authorizes the state’s adjutant general to activate state emergency plans and resources.The declaration also allowed the Nebraska Military Department to send 22 soldiers and airmen from the Nebraska National Guard to assist with fighting the fires.“We sincerely appreciate the willingness of our soldiers and airmen, as well as their families and employers, to support these local volunteer firefighters as they work to bring these blazes under control,” said Major General Craig Strong. “The overwhelming willingness of our Citizen Soldiers and Citizen Airmen to volunteer on very short notice for this important mission is in the best traditions of the Nebraska National Guard and our continuing pledge to assist our local communities and citizens when they need us.”Aerial ResponseFire response efforts were supported by multiple aircraft, including helicopters conducting water drops and aerial observations. National Guard provided a CH-47 Chinook helicopter with a five soldier crew and an LUH72 Lakota helicopter with a three soldier crew to provide aerial observation capabilitiesThe Broken Bow Fire Department requested that the public refrain from flying drones in the area to ensure safe and effective firefighting operations. Red Flag WarningsNearly the entire State of Nebraska was under a Red Flag Warning over the weekend, as well as extreme fire weather conditions. High winds and low humidity like the kind the state experience last week can create the ideal conditions for wildfire like those in Custer County. Dragging tow chains, underinflated tires and do not park hot machinery on tall grass can trigger a spark that can be the start of a wildfire. The Importance of Task ForcesStewart pointed out, “Resources like this are very important to the State of Nebraska. As you may know, 92 percent of the fire departments in Nebraska are volunteer departments. When areas have these large fires that have the potential to burn for multiple operational periods, the local resources get exhausted rather quickly. When Jefferson County experienced the Rock Creek fire in 2023, the departments in the immediate area were exhausted by the evening that the fire started. The active fire had been stopped; however the tough work was left to do, which was mopping up the incident and ensuring that the control lines hold and the fire doesn’t grow any larger. The Incident Commanders requested help from the WIRAT (Wildfire Incident Response Assistance Team). This team is made up of individuals from the Nebraska State Fire Marshal and the Nebraska Forest Service. They will assist the local Incident Command personnel in requesting resources to help them out. The second morning of the Rock Creek Fire, there were fire personnel and task forces from all across the state that came to Jefferson County to assist with controlling and containing the fire. This allowed the local responders to go home, get some sleep, go back to work, or do whatever, knowing that the fire was being taken care of.“In 2025, there are 11 official task forces within the state of Nebraska that are available for deployment anywhere within the state. While this deployment for the 3&33 Mutual Aid Task Force was for 12 hours, they are all prepared to spend up to 3 days on these deployments to ensure that there are enough resources available to effectively and safely get containment and hold the control lines for these large fires. Thanks goes out to the volunteers who give up their time, not only to provide fire protection to their local district, but to go on these deployments to ensure the safety and protect the property of the citizens of the State of Nebraska as well,” added Judd.

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