OCONTO, Neb.— Near the beginning of the 2 PM hour, first responders were dispatched to reports of a grass fire north of the community of Oconto on West Pressey Road near Pressey Park.
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Mutual aid was quickly called for as Broken Bow, Arnold, Anselmo, Merna, Ansley, Eddyville, and Mason City fire departments joined Oconto and Callaway in the fight not long after the initial call. Before 2:30 PM, special attention for ‘structure protection’ was relayed to responders.
As 3 PM approached, it was stated that the fire had jumped a river in the area as it was pushed forward by winds. The fire had already traveled several miles by 3 PM.
Later in the 3 PM hour, Cozad and Lexington were also requested to the site of the blaze. Agricultural aircraft was also seen flying over Broken Bow in the direction of the source of visible smoke ahead of the 4 PM hour.
At 4:20 PM Wednesday, information made available on WildCAD (a computer-aided dispatch system used by wildland fire agencies for automated updates on wildfire incidents) estimated the fire at 1,000 acres in size. The fire was also named the Pressey Fire.
Ahead of the 5 PM hour, a call went out for any additional Custer County fire departments to provide mutual aid who had not already.
As the fight against the fire entered the 5 PM hour, residents who called the KCNI/KBBN studios indicated that they were trying to leave their homes in the Ryno Road area and other areas surrounding the fire scene, but were not able to do so in a timely manner due to people in the area to watch the fire and the scene. One caller also believed they witnessed a truck unable to effectively reach a source of water due to people in the way. Those in the area or traveling to the area to watch need to stay away from the area so that crews can respond effectively.
Approaching 5:30 PM, mutual aid was requested from Litchfield and Arcadia in Sherman County. Several locations were stated to be set up to control traffic to only local traffic along Ryno Road S/SW of Broken Bow.
Nearing 6 PM Wednesday, road graders with fire department vehicles alongside them were observed leaving the highway department location west of Broken Bow on Ryno Road toward the area of the fire.
Just ahead of 7 PM, a call to the KCNI/KBBN studios indicated that the Oconto Community Hall and Senior Center were being opened for those who were asked to leave their homes or who made the decision to leave themselves.
By 8 PM Wednesday evening, the smoke filling the air from the Pressey Fire had turned to a much lighter shade of gray compared to the dark gray, almost black smoke seen just a couple hours prior (see comparison photo below). A location near the beginning point of the fire had attention turned toward it after re-ignition.
Airplanes assisting in fighting the fire were grounded as the sun set Wednesday night. Updates slowed significantly by 9 PM heading into the evening hours as crews continue to fight the fire.
Other crews identified as being at the fire or scheduled for shifts soon include members of the Mid NE Task Force (Albion, Battle Creek, Monroe, Newman Grove, St. Edward), Sutton, Sumner, Brady, Loup City, and Ashton. Many departments indicated they are being stretched in several directions as fires are located in several spots across the state. The importance of leaving an effective amount of equipment and personnel to cover each station’s own coverage area is also taken into consideration when providing mutual aid.
An update was given by Custer County Emergency Management on Thursday morning indicating the fire had burned 6,000 acres and traveled about 12 miles distance.
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The entire KCNI/KBBN listening area and much beyond is in an active Red Flag Warning, indicating that critical fire weather conditions are present due to strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures. At the KCNI/KBBN studios Wednesday, winds were consistently in the 30 to 40 MPH range (gusting higher at times), humidity crawled lower into the afternoon hours of the day under 30%, and temperatures rose into the 80s.
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