Chadron Nebraska Wildfire 7/28/06

[chrisingram911]

that fire sucked so big it was so big you could see it from nebraska and south dakota state line

[funymaggot12]

that was a scary time my family had to evacuat

[TheMahagoni]

this is bitching

[katidid28216]

Amazing.

[ThompsonGus]

That video brought chills down my spine. I was out at Job Corps when these fires where happening. I was on the Fire team that fought the fires too. Just to see C-Hill like that all in flames brought back a lot of memories. I am just glad that we were able to help out the people that we did....

[jman225]

@ThompsonGus

And the citizens of Chadron are glad you were there and will never forget what you and all the other volunteers did to literally save the town.  Thank you!!

[lincolnweather]

What kind of siren is that.

[ROYS5166]

I am originally from Chadron and was such a shock to see how close it came. Thanks for sharing the video. Chadron High Class of 1950

[clear99k]

That Was just one of The fires. There Where Tree fires in a 30 mile area. My mother works up at the college. She had to go up there to set out sprinklers to help stop the fire from taking out the college. I do not remember at all of the national gards coming in to help. Though I do remember that different aggences all over the country and a group from Alstrala came in. It was the effert on all parts that did it. I my self know this was the worst fire yet to date. I couldn't go to work, ST park.

[CorruptedMyk]

I was up by the college when this went down.....Almost a city wide evacuation. =/

[nesnaj21]

My grandparents live there... I live in California and we had some bad fires here ourselves.

[garydrian]

you should see when california is on fire! last week when i went to fontana i could see the huge fires 30 miles away from the mountain. . people from nebraska are lucky that this does not happen often and when it does they are usually small like this one and also there is not alot of people that live in that state.

[tcfryer2001]

dude that was the crazyiest night ever.., i still remember it perfectly... i was 8 blocks away awaiting the evecuation call that thanfully never came

[engine173351]

I just noticed that, Highrise hall

[HuskerMoon]

So who saved Chadron? I'm not sure I've heard the true story.

Was it the Forest Service? The City Fire Department or the National Guard?

Or was it luck?

[stapler2025]

Even though this is a year late on the reply, I can answer your question.

It was the Forest Service, alongside with the National Guard, under the command of the Rocky Mountain Wildland Response Team (I think that's the name), with help from the local Job Corps campus, and teams called in from various states, SD, WY, CO etc.

I worked on the camp crew on the fires, stayed in the rise. It was a hectic night, we could see the fire come down over C Hill.

[00jojo]

wot street u on? i gots some family in chadron.

[forward2012]

i live in chadron also and i thought my house

was going to burn to the ground and i thought chadron was going to burn to the ground

[mamajess84]

It's crazy, Chadron almost burned down on my wedding day. Luckily, I got married in Gordon. I DO have to say that the smoke from the fire against the sun makes a very beautiful sunset. I'm just glad that nobody was hurt. It was very scary.

[Cornhusker149]

yeah so i live in chadron and i wont lie...it was scary...i was only in town for the very end of it tho (thank god)

[lividlady]

i was only 15 minutes from chadron at the time. i was on a mission trip to south dakota and we could see the smoke over the hill from pine ridge indian reservation.

[vljenewein]

I grew us SW of Crawford Nebr. on the Barnum ranch and now live in Michigan. I have friends in Chadron and seeing this video reaches close to home. It sure is a great video! Vern Jenewein

[Laurine07]

That's crazy....I am currently a student and it was nuts for me to be 6 hours away thinking that I may not have a school to come back to in August.

[sueanngardner]

We live in Lincoln and were on the edge of our seats during the fires this past summer. We were going to stay at Chadron State Park just as the fires were raging their worst. We were so glad that not too much damage was done to the park or people's homes. Though the five homes that were lost were still too many!

[jchubb1]

I am from Nebraska and now live in Maryland. I cannot believe that CSC almost caught on fire!! It is sad to see the pictures of C hill

[00jojo]

wot part of maryland???

[jchubb1]

Silver Spring

[Jadler88]

Dude, its amazing you got a video jim. Your probably one of a few that got a video and is able to post it. Thank you...

[RODEONan]

We listened to Double Q Counrty for all the updates on the fire. It's amazing that CSC was saved! Although you can really see the 'C' on 'C' Hill now. We're in Berea, just between Allinace and Hemingford. Friday night we could see the glow in the North and the occasional leap of fire. After getting some rain the smoke smell isn't quite as strong as earlier. Now if they can just get the Harrison fires under control. Check out Bruce E.'s pics at www.doubleqcountry.com

[krispearson]

We moved from Chadron last year. We were in Chadron visiting friends when the fire happened. It was even scarier being there than the video can portray.  The people of Chadron are amazing in their support of the firefighters and each other. Wish I still lived there!

[69mailman69]

I also lived in Chadron a few years ago and spent much time wandering in much the same area as the fires. I was just there early last week visiting family. This area was a place of great healing to me. I can only hope that it can now heal it's self.

[chancellorjake]

Wow, that is surreal!

I attended CSC from 1998-2002 and during those four years I never heard the city use the warning siren system. They only used the alert tones back then. I can't imagine how horrifying it must have been for the people of Chadron when the wildfire came roaring over C Hill. Thanks for posting this video, Jim!