Betty’s Way Fire

Several agencies came together to battle blazes across Nebraska on Tuesday, including the Nebraska State Patrol and Nebraska National Guard.

According to Region 51 Emergency Manager, Brandon Myers, the Betty’s Way Fire spanned over 70,000 acres in Lincoln and Custer County as of 4:00 pm cst on Tuesday.

Firefighters from the panhandle made their trek eastward to help with the devastating fires in the North Platte area.

A team effort was certainly needed.

From Nebraska State Patrol

Fighting wildfires is a major team effort. One way our troopers help is with thermal drone flights.

Some fires are easy to spot, but the thermal drones can locate hot spots much more difficult to see. Troopers alert firefighters or Nebraska National Guard pilots to attack those areas.

Midwest Melanie did a great job keeping people updated on all the North Platte area wildfires. Here’s a timeline from 1:00 pm Monday to after 3:00 am Tuesday.

From Midwest Media By Melanie

As of 1 pm Tuesday the Betty’s Way Fire north of Maxwell/Brady is 79% contained, and has been since 10 am Tuesday. Chief of North Platte Fire Department Dennis Thompson expects the fire to be completely out by mid evening Tuesday, barring anything drastic happening.

NEMA is sending in two Blackhawk helicopters and Army and Air Nebraska National Guard hand crew in to one particularly difficult spot on the east end of the fire near Road 782. The terrain is making the hot spot difficult but Chief Thompson says no one is in eminent danger and all perimeter fires are black (meaning burned with nothing left to burn). There are no hot spots on the edge.

Local crews remain on scene until the help from the state arrives. The work will continue for another day or two just to make sure no sparks remain.

Some people have returned home, although the official evacuations have not all been lifted. People were told to stay out of the area unless they had important business there. This keeps everyone safe as fire fighters do their work.

One property was a total loss (house and vehicles). One house had light to moderate exterior damage. The new golf course near Maxwell lost some construction materials and out buildings but no damage to the main structure.

Chief Thompson says he is glad it was not worse. I told him to get some rest. He said he would rest later. What a great guy, and what a great group of fire fighters we have in our area. Thank you to all of you.

The State Fire Marshall pinpointed the cause of the fire. It was caused by mowing operations, either a blade or a bearing on a mower. The situation involving kids throwing fireworks at Lake Maloney was completely unrelated to this fire.

Again, thank you to our fire fighters.

Photo credit Gale Hopping. Photo taken Monday.

---

Resources Available for Those Impacted

Officials are working with ranchers, farmers, and residents to address any unmet needs. Fire managers are actively working with the American Red Cross and various state agencies to aid those affected by the Betty’s Way Fire.

If you were impacted by the fire, please contact:

• United States Department of Agriculture- 308-534-2360
• Natural Resources Conservation Services- 308-535-8080
• Salvation Army- 308-532-2038
• American Red Cross- 1-833-583-3111

Donations can be directed to the local Salvation Army.

Please take donations for the fire to The Salvation Army North Platte, NE at 1020 North Adams. Please do not take them to the armory or fire house.

---

Attention fire fighters! Thank you so much for each and every one of you who worked the Betty’s Way Fire! Here’s an ask – a lot of people (including students) want to say “Thank you!”

If you would be so kind as to have someone from your department comment below that your volunteers or professional fire fighters or other team/group/etc. helped, that would be an amazing resource so no one gets missed.

I know volunteers don’t go looking for recognition, so this may be a difficult thing I’m asking. But people want to say thank you.

Thank you!

---

---

And then there was that scanner page…

No, I’m not talking about the Scotts Bluff County or Panhandle Scanner. I am talking about the Dawson County Scanner.

The Dawson County scanner did an exceptional job of alerting people during the critical fire response, in real time.

They passed along official information that was repeated on the public police scanner between dispatchers in North Platte and Nebraska State Patrol Troopers on scene and around the State.

Like us, they are a scanner page that puts out information in real time, always keeping in mind that the situation is fluid when it comes to crime, weather, and rescue calls.

Nothing is as it begins.

We do not have to “wait for the facts to come out.” We are putting out the facts as they are first considered in real time, then confirmed as the story unfolds.

The news services often use the information we put out to write their stories. Not because we’re better, but because we accurately report public information from the officials.

The scanner pages and other alternative news sources are becoming more read and more trusted as people realize how qualified some of those admins are, while being paid a couple hundred dollars a month to compete with ‘major media.’

Most of us are just passionate people who are trying to fill a void left by exiting major media companies all over the news landscape

Please support pages like Midwest Media By melanie and Dawson County Scanner.

We support several others, but those are the two mentioned in this article.

Thank you to those who understand crowdsourcing news. We depend on you, the community, as the eyes and ears for the real news on the ground in real time.

L

If you see something, say something!