CUSTER COUNTY – The Custer County Foundation has again put together a fire assistance fund for the impending fire statement.
Executive Director Lindsay Cook says that the success of last year’s fund has allowed the foundation to focus on specific needs for area departments.
“Last year we raised about $55,000 and we just divided that out among the fire departments and said ‘Use it wherever you need.’ This year, the board decided they wanted to try and get the departments the right equipment to make sure the volunteers are staying safe.”
That equipment could include general protective gear to specific masks designed for use when fighting grass and pasture fires. The decision to focus the fund’s efforts, Cook says, comes from a hands-on, actively-involved board.
“We do have some volunteer firefighters on the board, so that helped because they’re aware of what the departments are lacking in certain areas. So if we could help them out, that’d be great.”
Cook goes on to say that the fund, having emerged from the previous year’s devastation, has come to the mind of the Custer County community in the wake of the over 40,000 acres lost in the recent Cooksley Complex Fire; it seems the assistance fund is back by popular demand.
“There have been some devastating fires in the area already, and we’ve had people call the office and ask if we’re going to do anything for it again this year, and so the board did decide to open an assistance fund.”
Given the current dry conditions, Cook says that the fund will most likely stay open for donations as long as the threat of fire persists, but would consider the fund a huge success if it remains a backup plan.
“We’ll announce when it closes, but as long as it’s dry, it’ll probably remain open, because we just don’t know what’ll pop up. We hope that no more fires will pop up, but there are no guarantees.”
Donations in the form of checks should be made payable to the Custer County Foundation, noting the “Fire Assistance Fund” in the memo line, and can be mailed to PO Box 304, Broken Bow, NE 68822.
Additionally, donations can be made online through the Custer County Foundation’s website.
