Fire season is something,as a kid,that I never really thought about. I’m sure Nebraska had it’s share of big fires back in the day, but it seems to me that since I jumped back into the newspaper business back in 2009, that fire season is extremely real, not just in Nebraska, but everywhere.
This spring and this summer have been particularly devastating, to put it mildly. The Cottonwood Fire which we’ve all heard so much about,along with many others, have scorched so much land in western Nebraska because the weather hasn’t been kind to the burn areas.
All fires have devastating impacts to land, properties and certainly livelihoods, and the current South Fork Fire near Crawford and Ft. Robinson State Park is no exception.
As many of you may remember, over the course of the past six to seven years, with the exception of last year, that has been my annual summer vacation “go to spot” because of the sheer beauty of northwest Nebraska.
This year, as I glean through the news and social media outlets, looking at pictures and video’s of the devastation that is taking place out by Crawford, it truly hurts me to the core.
With as much time as I have spent there, I have been able to get to know some of the locals that live in and around Crawford, and my beloved Ft. Robinson.
When you see and hear about the devastation that is taking place, not just with the South Fork Fire, but all of the fires that have impacted so many lives this year, it truly is heartbreaking.
Mother Nature, while she has blessed us with plenty of moisture, as completely avoided western and northwestern Nebraska almost completely.
I read somewhere that when devastation hits like it has out west this year, that it’s Mother Natures way of cleansing the soul of the earth, and if that is the fact, enough is enough. I think the lands in western and northwestern Nebraska have been “cleansed enough.”
If there is anything positive about wildfires is the fact that there are throngs on people that step up to the plate to battle these fires.
Several Clay County departments have risen to the occasion putting their own lives on hold to help others that are in desperate need of assistance. All of the wildfires this year have also taken place in tough areas to battle fires of this magnitude with rugged terrain, steep canyons and almost impossible areas in which to even attempt to put major fires that have, and are currently burning our state, and many other states, out.
It’s impressive to know that these Wildland Fire Crews are stepping up to help farmers and ranchers, and even communities to stave off this ugly kind of wrath that Mother Nature has brought forth.
It is my hope to make a visit out to northwest Nebraska to soak in a different perspective of what my favorite place in Nebraska looks like with my own eyes.
With all the pictures and videos that I have seen, I have no doubt what I will see while taking the several hour drive to the northwest part of the state will be shocking and certainly devastating to witness.
As of the writing of this week’s Bull, it was reported that containment of the South Fork Fire is almost 50-percent contained, which is good, but I’m more hopeful that sometime very soon that this unbelievable fire will be fully contained and put out.
Thank you to all the local fire departments who’ve responded to help out with this ugly natural disaster, and lending a hand to help extinguish this fire in my favorite area of my home state.
