Wind-driven fire threatens Benkelman

    Longtime Benkelman Fire Chief Relegene Zimbelman says the wildfire that forced the evacuation of the community early Friday ranks No. 1 as the most intense and scariest call he’s been on. Zimbelman has served on the Benkelman Rural Fire Department for 49 years and 30 years as fire chief.
    “People don’t really know how close we came to losing the west side of Benkelman and maybe even more,” Zimbelman said. “Every minute and man counted.”
    The Circle B Motel and Sky-line Grill Restaurant (at the northwest edge of Benkelman)sustained significant smoke and soot damage and clean up will take the owners time.
    Skyline will be closed for a few weeks and Circle B only has a few rooms to rent until they can get everything repaired, replaced, and cleaned. That will take at least 3 weeks according to owner Craig Kerchal.
    The fire call came about 12:30 a.m. Two Dundy County residents called it in. Mo Burrell, who was working for South-west Public Power District and Nathan Behlke, a farmer who lives near where the fire originated about five miles northwest of Benkelman.
    Zimbelman said when they reached the top of the hill near the Kwik Stop and could see the flames, he knew it was going to be bad. “I called back to dispatch and told them to call every fire department in a 50-mile radius.”
    Fourteen departments, 80 men, and 40 trucks responded from southwest Nebraska, Northwest Kansas, and Eastern Colorado.
    (Imperial responded with a grass rig, tanker unit and additional members in a command unit.)
    The fire started near a burn pit on a farm owned by Brian Fries near Twin Lakes north-west of Benkelman. The pit was last burned after a four-inch snow on Dec. 16. Fries got a legal burn permit and then buried the pit after it burned that day. Chief Zimbelman said Fries did everything right.
    Four weeks later, with winds gusting to over 70 mph, an ember started burning again. With the dry grass and hurricane-force winds, the fire burned almost straight south along the edge of a canyon.
    Zimbelman said the wind switched enough that the flames turned, spread quickly into a corn field and CRP ground and headed straight toward the airport and Benkelman.
    The conditions were horrible. Zimbelman said the only thing firemen could see was the orange glow of the fire. Otherwise there was zero visibility. They had to wear goggles over their eyes. Firemen’s faces were blasted by soot, dirt, and sand.

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