SHERMAN COUNTY, Neb.— Sherman County Sheriff Joel Bergman told KCNI/KBBN on Friday morning that fires that occurred earlier this week in the county are being added to a list of blazes being treated as ‘suspicious’.
Several fire departments from the area responded to flames west of Loup City near County Road 788 and WPA Road on Wednesday. The fire occurred in a general area that drew enough attention to begin an investigation almost exactly a year ago. At that time, the sheriff said the fire had an undetermined cause and was likely intentionally started.
Another fire prior to that, in December of 2024, was intentionally started by fireworks being lit from a vehicle.
Sheriff Bergman says that witnesses have reported information about individuals seen in the area of the fires prior to their start and that the investigation is continuing with that additional information added.
In a social media post about critical fire conditions in Nebraska for the weekend, the sheriff offered a reminder that ‘arson is a crime, and by definition, is the willful and malicious burning or charring of property. It’s a crime that goes beyond mere destruction of property. Fires that are intentionally set can result in high dollar damage losses, destruction, and possible loss of life’.
The text went on to say that motivations for starting fires can be complex and include revenge, vandalism, terrorism, rage, simple thrill or attention-seeking, or even wanting to be the one to “discover” a fire and respond to it to be the “hero” in the drama of one’s own creation.
Throughout the entire time span of suspicious blazes inside Sherman County lines, Sheriff Bergman has encouraged those who have information they believe would be helpful to the investigation to reach out to him.
