By Paul Hammel
Omaha World-Herald (Nebraska)
Copyright 2006 The Omaha World-Herald Company
VALENTINE, Neb. — Stories of sleepless nights, heroic acts and tremendous kindness emerged as firefighters continued to battle hot spots Tuesday from a 2,000-acre wildfire that destroyed 10 homes and damaged several more.
“They’re going on pretty much no sleep,” said Kay Reese, whose husband, Richard, is a member of the Valentine Volunteer Fire Department.
“I saw him like 37 hours ago,” she said around noon Tuesday.
Kay Reese was among volunteers organizing cases of bottled water and food donated by local residents for the firefighters, who included members of more than 50 area fire departments, ranchers with spray trucks, and personnel from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Nebraska National Guard.
At the Valentine fire station, coolers filled with ice, bottled water and Gatorade were stacked three high, covering an area larger than a two-car garage.
“In a small town, people come together in a time of need,” Assistant Fire Chief Mike Schmitz said.
Schmitz said the fire was still “contained but not controlled.” Because of hot, dry, windy conditions, he said, it could be days before the fire would be declared officially controlled.
“We’re still getting calls from people (saying), ‘It’s flaring up,’” Schmitz said.
Schmitz said he worked 30 hours straight before getting some sleep Tuesday morning. It was the same for several of the Valentine department’s 48 members, he said.
“We just know we’ve got to keep going. We want to make sure it’s out,” he said.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office said the blaze, which started about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, was caused by a tree branch that rubbed against a power line north of Valentine, creating sparks. High winds quickly swept the fire across Minnechaduza Creek and into acreage residences.
“We could have lost the whole east end of town,” said Arch Ferguson of Wood Lake, a volunteer firefighter.
Cedar trees exploded in flame, embers ignited in backyards of homes, and dozens of small fires erupted in grasses on empty lots, he said.
“It was something you see on television. You never expect to see it here,” said Ferguson, a former football player at the old Omaha University.
Officials also were struggling with emergency communications. Intense heat from the fire caused a 300-foot-tall communications tower to collapse. The tower had been used to dispatch responders to 911 calls.
As a result, firefighters during the blaze were being dispatched through a radio in the cab of a rescue squad vehicle parked in front of the fire station. At times, a radio operator inside the station had to walk messages out to the rescue squad that the operator had received from 911 dispatchers.
“Right now, we’re one step ahead of stringing tin cans,” said Gary Weaver, an assistant emergency management director for Cherry and Keya Paha Counties.
“It’s a worst-nightmare scenario,” said Curt Rees, a communications technician from Pierre, S.D., called in to resolve the problem. He said a temporary, 100-foot communications tower on loan from Lancaster County was expected to be in service Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, stories of selfless acts were circulating around town.
Even as flames approached her house, J.J. Nutter rescued horses from her mother’s acreage across the road. Both of their homes were lost.
Down the road, a prized 1963 Chevy Impala convertible — a 15-year restoration project — was saved from the garage of Rick Reikofski by an alert friend, Gus Brown, who drove it away. Reikofski’s home and garage were a total loss.
A local college student, Adam Rupe, was driving through Colorado back to his summer job fighting fires at Zion National Park in Utah late Sunday when he heard about the Valentine blaze.
He called his boss and his parents, then turned around to join the fire lines.
His father, John Rupe, a Valentine motel operator, said his son simply told him, “It’s my town, Dad.”
Holly Whitney, whose parents’ home was reduced to a pile of ash, said firefighters were able to stave off flames long enough for her family to retrieve some valuables and their pets — three dogs, three birds, a hamster and a rabbit.
“Luckily, no one lost their lives,” Whitney said. “This is something you can survive.”