Wind driven fire races halfway across county

The ominous signs were there Sunday. The National Weather Service had issued a Red Flag warning for the area. This warning is posted when warm temperatures, low humidity, dried fuel and strong winds are expected across an area. This was the case across Nuckolls and adjoining counties.

The first hint of trouble hit the air when the warning sirens in Superior wavered up and down to call the Superior Volunteer Fire Department members to the Public Safety Building.

The first fire call came in at 12:34 p.m. according to Scott Nondorf, Superior fire chief.

The fire was reported to have started at Road D and Road 3000. It is thought high winds caused a transformer on a power pole to spark and ignite dried vegetation in a ditch though an official cause has yet to be established.

When the first Superior rig arrived on the scene, the fire was more than a mile away from its origin point. The winds were a sustained 25 miles per hour with gusts reaching up to 50 miles per hour.

As the scope of the fire emerged, mutual aid calls were sent out.

Departments from Lawrence, Nelson, Hardy, Guide Rock, Byron, Ruskin, Blue Hill, Red Cloud, Hebron, Davenport, Campbell, Bladen, Clay Center, Sutton, Fairfield as well as Kansas departments responded.

In addition to the fire departments, individuals played a vital role in assisting in the fire fighting. Volunteers hauled water for the tankers while farmers disced fields with their tractors to create fire breaks.

The fire fighters raced to keep up with the fire. One responder noted the fire outpaced them while they were driving 45 miles per hour on a county road. Another reported walking next to the truck to provide guidance as the smoke had reduced visibility to such a low level. Poor visibility led to the closure of a portion of US 136.

When the fire was contained, more than 10,000 acres of Nuckolls County land was scorched.

Farmers worked together to move cattle out of the way of the approaching flames. While no livestock appears to have been lost in the fire, some have since died from smoke inhalation.

The fire destroyed more than 20 utility poles causing power outages. South Central Public Power District worked to restore power on Monday with multiple crews in the fire zone.

Several fields of unharvested corn fell victim to the blaze. A large number of round hay bales, set aside for winter feeding, were reduced to smoldering hulks.

Mark Schultz, who resides north of US 136 on the east end of the fire zone, was the victim of substantial property losses. The fire destroyed his house, which contained all his personal belongings including a bookcase he built while in school. His barn, which contained more than 20 vintage automobiles in various stages of restoration, was a total loss. His shop building and other outbuildings were destroyed by the fire.

Schultz and his father had 10 minutes warning the fire was headed their way. They moved a combine, tractor and planter out of the blazing path. They started their semi-truck but could not pump up enough air to move it. The truck was a total loss. Schultz also lost two antique tractors which were gifts from his grandfather. He had material for a new building he was going to construct. That was consumed by the flames.

Schultz had a roller coaster week. He finished harvest Thursday, was burned out Sunday and celebrated his 45th birthday Tuesday. He was thankful no one was injured,

Irene Andersen lost her barn to the blaze but it stopped short of her house.

Fire fighters broke away to fight another fire near Nora and US 136. A barn was consumed by the fire. At an earlier time, a power line spark ignited a grass fire. The fire burned toward the barn, flickered under a lawn mower with a full tank of gasoline and then died out before reaching the barn. The second time was not the charm as the barn was leveled.

The fire traveled more than 10 miles north to Road PQ before being stopped. The width of the fire was between Roads 3000 and 3200.

The St, Stephen's Altar Society had their annual soup supper planned for Sunday afternoon. The group cancelled the event and moved the food to the Lawrence Fire Hall to feed the fire fighters.

Several area business establishments donated supplies for the fire fighters. Casey's supplied pizza. Donated Gatorade and water was handed out.

The Superior Ladies Auxiliary was on the scene with food.

The Superior Volunteer Fire Department dispatched three tankers and three grass rigs to fight the fire. The last truck returned to Superior at 8:50 a.m. Monday.

Carrie Lemke described how her husband Terry arrived home after fighting the blaze. His face was covered in dirt and soot. You could see the outline where he wore his glasses. His normally grey hair was black as were his ears. After one shower, the residue still remained. Two showers later, he was recognizable again. He took some pain medication, ate a breakfast burrito and went for a well deserved sleep.

Nick Elledge, Nuckolls County Emergency Management director, said he would be looking to have the county declared a disaster area so as to qualify for relief aid.

Cooler temperatures and rising humidly kept the fire from reemerging Monday.

Thanks to the outstanding effort exerted by all the volunteers, further disaster was avoided