OSHKOSH, Neb. — Two months after the historic Morrill Fire tore across western Nebraska, recovery remains slow as drought and wind continue to hammer burned pastureland.
Joe Van Newkirk, owner of Van Newkirk Herefords near Oshkosh, recalled the extreme conditions the day the fire erupted near Angora in late March. Winds were estimated near 70 mph as flames rapidly pushed eastward through the Sandhills.
“We heard there was a fire at Angora,” Van Newkirk said. “They said it traveled about 14 miles the first hour or something like that. With that kind of wind, there’s just no getting ahead of it.”
Van Newkirk said the fire eventually stretched roughly 70 miles in less than 24 hours, threatening communities throughout the North Platte River Valley.
“There was probably a line of fire 40 miles wide headed south toward the North Platte River Valley,” he said.
As the flames advanced, ranchers across the region mobilized equipment in an attempt to protect homes, livestock and towns.
“That’s when about everybody kind of hooked their disks up and water tanks and fire rigs to just try to save the valley,” Van Newkirk said.
Today, the focus has shifted from firefighting to recovery. Van Newkirk said much of the burned range may remain unusable for at least a year because of limited grass regrowth and continued dry conditions.
“There’s not going to be any cattle in that country for a year, I would say,” he said. “We’re just going to have to rest it.”
Even outside the burn scar, drought conditions are creating additional stress for ranchers. Van Newkirk said his family is already preparing contingency plans, including early weaning calves, if significant moisture does not arrive soon.
“We weaned the 10th of July in 2012,” he said. “It’s very expensive and pretty miserable. But if you want to hang on to your genetics, you have to.”
The fire’s aftermath has also transformed parts of the Sandhills landscape. Van Newkirk described burned hillsides as “like a moonscape” while constant wind continues moving loose sand across the region.
Still, he said the response from neighbors and supporters across the country has provided encouragement during an otherwise difficult spring.
“I’m not so sure that there haven’t been a thousand loads of hay come out to this county,” Van Newkirk said, noting donations arrived from states including South Dakota, Ohio, Kansas and Missouri.
Van Newkirk also praised local volunteers who gathered at fire halls with food, drinks and supplies for firefighters and first responders.
“I thought, good grief, what a great neighborhood we live in,”