News from Neighbors

2 days of wind-driven firefighting challenge IVFD

IMPERIAL REPUBLICAN, Jan. 20 —   Evacuating Imperial, Nebraska, had crossed the minds of Chase County, Nebraska’s emergency manager and Imperial fire officers last week as high winds pushed a grass fire to the northwest edge of town.

“Right after I was on scene, it crossed my mind,” said Duane Dreiling, the county’s emergency manager. He said if it had been mutually agreed upon with the fire department, evacuation would have happened.

But, almost miraculously, Dreiling and Fire Chief Doug Mitchell both said the estimated 50-60 mph winds last Wednesday night were cut in half. That was vital as the fast-moving fire was under control by the time it reached the highway, according to their reports.

The Jan. 13 fire, starting near the Max and Joni Kaiser farm, was just one of four calls the Imperial Volunteer Fire Department answered over a two-day span last week. All of them were worsened by consistent high winds that peaked as high as 71 mph on Friday.

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