Smoke entered the sky on Wednesday afternoon just before 2 PM south of Ansley. Reports of a grass fire near Highway 183 and Road 781 sprung first responders into action to fight the flames.
Throughout the first hour that the fire was fought, responders from Ansley, Broken Bow, and Merna were included in the response.
Coming out of a very cold stretch that saw wind chill temperatures well into the negatives, Wednesday afternoon wind speeds at the nearby KCNI/KBBN studios are consistently eclipsing 20 to 25 MPH. Just .12″ of measurable precipitation have been noted as of January 22nd in Broken Bow.
UPDATE (3:22 PM) Eddyville and Litchfield have been called to the location for help.
UPDATE (3:50 PM) Strong winds quickly pushed the fire to the southeast of where it originally sparked, up and over hills in that direction. One fire truck could be seen left behind patrolling the burnt ground.
UPDATE (Wednesday, 7 PM) Custer County Emergency Management indicated in a social media post that nine area departments along with the Custer County Sheriff’s Office provided aid in battling the fire and that about 900 acres were burned. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
UPDATE (Thursday, Noon) KCNI/KBBN placed a call and email to the Emergency Manager this morning to clarify the status of the fire, which have not been answered.
UPDATE (Friday, 11:50 AM) Emergency Manager Mark Rempe confirmed the information in the earlier social media post, that approximately 900 acres were burned. He was unsure if the fire was still being monitored in any way, but indicated that by Wednesday evening the main concern was haybales that were still hot. Rempe added that his office would not be releasing an official list of departments that assisted with the fire.
Resident video and KCNI/KBBN photos below:
