AINSWORTH, NE -
The fires in Nebraska's Niobrara River Valley are now about 70% contained, but late this afternoon one of the fires broke through the containment, sending crews scrambling to bring it back under control.
"This is a small community, with big hearts... and they jumped to the occasion," said Keya Paha County Commissioner Mike Tuerk.
Up until Tuesday, the only people fighting these fires were the local fire districts, and their resources burned up quickly..
The Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team stepped in to help battle the flames, but Tuerk says things would be different without help from local residents.
"We've got a lot of people in our community, that are used to these kinds of events and they came out with tractors and disks and their own portable water tanks, and I can't say enough... I can't imagine where we'd be if they hadn't done their part," he said, adding that "they do it willingly, it's not like it's a paid assignment."
The Commissioner held an emergency meeting to talk about the progression of the fires, and he says the fight is ongoing.
"In this kind of country, if you leave, if you leave it alone for five minutes, it's gonna get going again, and it'll be moving again depending on the winds."
Winds on Thursday were strong, which could give fuel to the fire, but despite that danger things are getting better thanks to higher humidity and lower temperatures.
You can still see a massive cloud of smoke coming from a burning area, in fact every couple of minutes helicopters bring big buckets of water to pour over the fire. There are still several crews working to get this fire under control.
Tuerk says he will be happy when its all over. His house is one of the 10 destroyed so far in the fires.
"I was there with the firefighters, they did a stellar job, I can't complain we can't control the weather we thought we had it under control, but it didn't work out that way. In the end, its stuff, It's stuff that can be replaced," he said.
He says the community is strong, and will come together in this time of need.
Most of the people in the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team are expected to pack up Saturday, depending on the situation. The team says they expect to have this fire contained by this weekend.
If you'd like to help, a fund has been set up to raise money for recovery efforts.
Tax–deductible contributions can be made to the North Central Development Center at
335 N. Main Street
Ainsworth, NE 69210
Please write "fire relief" in the memo line.
All money donated will go to the fire departments in the area and to the victims of the fires.
