Structure fire forebodes the winter wildfire season

PERU – A structure fire in Peru Sunday is a reminder of the dangers of wildfires.

Peru resident Jayden Ford said she was taking an elderly Second Street resident home from church on Sunday when they noticed a fire at the north end of the street.

Ford said the fire destroyed what she described as an abandoned house where debris had collected. Nearby trees were charred 25 feet from the ground on the fire side of their trunks. Ford said smoke and heat reached the neighboring house.

Ford said burn permits are essential especially in dry conditions.

Ford: “If we didn’t leave church when we did, I mean her house and dogs could have been dead. It all caught on fire. By the time the firefighters got here, it was high in the trees. I’m glad we called and came home when we did.”

She said firefighters had to return several times after the initial fire because of rekindled flames and smoke.

The Nebraska Fire Weather Forecast Map has the rangeland fire danger today at very high for most of eastern Nebraska. Conditions are expected to improve to moderate on Tuesday and reach low levels in Cass and parts of Otoe County on Wednesday.

Last February, Nebraska experienced several major wildfires. Over 4,100 acres were scorched in Custer and Dawes counties in central Nebraska. A state of emergency was declared on Feb. 27 as high winds and low moisture increased fire danger.

State officials say 90 percent of range fires that required a response were caused by human activity.

Red Flag warnings were issued Monday in the Nebraska Panhandle.