Firefighters from multiple departments converged on the grounds at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge last week, working to control a fire that spread over many acres.
Chris Masson, Incident Commander in coosperation with the volunteers, explained that the first fire started on September 9 in the Harrison Boyd Meadow portion of the Refuge.
“The volunteer fire departments and myself responded to the fires, and we were able to put the two fires out by midnight,” said Masson. “We ordered federal resources to come out to help us that evening. I went out the next morning at five o’clock and started to patrol the units, and we mopped up a bunch. Mopping up is pretty much making sure you don’t have any hot spots, or anything, pouring water on the flanks of the fire.”
The winds played havoc on the afternoon of September 10, rekindling the northernmost fire, Masson explained.
“That fire ended up getting fairly large,” Masson said. “We had the VFDs and the Alliance Fire Department assist us on that. We ended up working on that fire until three or four o’clock on 9/11. The VFDs and a couple of federal folks that came from the Bessey National Forest, and from the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. On 9/11, we had more federal folks come out to start patrolling. From 9/11 to 9/12, we’ve had about a dozen federal folks out here patrolling and making sure the fire is good and dead.”
Masson explained that a federal, single-engine air tanker also assisted in combatting the fire by dropping retardant on the east flank of the fire. He described one of the successful strategies in getting the fire under control.
“We did a large burnout with our federal folks and the volunteer fire departments between Martin Lake and Smith Lake,” said Masson. “The reason for the burnout operation was to try and stop the fire that was burning in the hills of Smith Lake.”
Masson said the fires were started by dry lightning. He explained some of challenges they faced in getting this fire under control.
“Probably the biggest challenge for everyone was just the remoteness of this Refuge,” Masson said. “The winds, at one point, were blowing about 30 miles per hour, which were not forecasted until later in the day.”
The fire consumed 1,249 acres of land, with 69 acres spilling over onto private land in three different spots.
“The responding volunteers did a fantastic job,” said Masson. “I’d like to highlight the great support we received from the volunteer fire department and the Alliance City Department, and the cooperation of volunteers and local folks working with the federal government. I thought that was really positive. I also found it really positive, a lot of volunteers don’t do burnout operations, but coming together with the volunteers and doing burnout was seamless.”
Those battling the fire include people from the Rex Ranch, the Garden County Fire Department, the Alliance Fire Department, the Heart of the Hills Fire Department, individuals from the Dietlein family, people from Rush Creek, the Broadwater Fire Department, Lisco Fire Department, and local landowner Brad Emerson.
There were no injuries reported as a result of this fire, and there was no damage to structures, though the fire did affect some of the fencing, Masson noted.
“When I’m fighting fire, as long as we have a safe culture, and no one is badly injured, that’s a victory to me,” Masson said.