Read the full article on KETV 7
Advertisement
‘They saved my house’: Nebraska rancher recalls firefighters battling deadly wildfires
Owen Johnson, a rancher from Brady, and his horses narrowly escaped the Cottonwood fire Thursday, as it burned through hundreds of thousands of acres in Nebraska.
As fire crews work tirelessly to combat the flames, Nebraskans are racing to protect their homes and livestock from the largest wildfires in the state’s history.Owen Johnson rushed home Thursday when he saw smoke and ash approaching his ranch in Brady, Nebraska. He said five wildfire firefighters from Colorado worked to help save him and his horses as the flames closed in.”I had 27 horses here at the house, and as the fire got closer, I could see how big it was and how hot it was. So, they said, ‘You got to get the horses out here.’ And we didn’t have trailer space. And so, we ended up turning the horses out and running them down the road,” Johnson said.Johnson tried to turn up a ring of grass near his property, but eventually the flames got too close. He led his horses away from the ranch as local crews continued to fight the fire for hours.”I came back down and talked to the local firefighters, and they said it would be an act of God if the house was still standing. It was about an hour after that that they’d let me come back in. And the house was still here. The guys from Colorado foamed it, they stayed until the bitter end, and they saved my house,” Johnson said.Not everything on his property survived. Johnson said one horse died from smoke inhalation, and several more are now being treated. Johnson organized a GoFundMe to help with the added costs of the devastation.”It burned my outbuildings, my shop, 100 or 115 bales of hay, about every acre of grass, I got burned all my corrals down,” Johnson said. “On Thursday, I guess I had, I had enough hay to last me quite a while. And when I woke up Friday morning, I couldn’t find a blade of grass or hay. I couldn’t find a leaf of alfalfa.”Johnson said he’s grateful to those who went out of their way to help him in the aftermath, including farmers he says brought him hay from hundreds of miles away.He said he credits the firefighters for saving his own life.”Five guys saved my house, essentially. Know if it wouldn’t be for them, I’d probably be cooked in the dozer on top of the hill, because I stayed there till the bitter end,” Johnson said.
As fire crews work tirelessly to combat the flames, Nebraskans are racing to protect their homes and livestock from the largest wildfires in the state’s history.
Owen Johnson rushed home Thursday when he saw smoke and ash approaching his ranch in Brady, Nebraska. He said five wildfire firefighters from Colorado worked to help save him and his horses as the flames closed in.
Advertisement
“I had 27 horses here at the house, and as the fire got closer, I could see how big it was and how hot it was. So, they said, ‘You got to get the horses out here.’ And we didn’t have trailer space. And so, we ended up turning the horses out and running them down the road,” Johnson said.
Johnson tried to turn up a ring of grass near his property, but eventually the flames got too close. He led his horses away from the ranch as local crews continued to fight the fire for hours.
“I came back down and talked to the local firefighters, and they said it would be an act of God if the house was still standing. It was about an hour after that that they’d let me come back in. And the house was still here. The guys from Colorado foamed it, they stayed until the bitter end, and they saved my house,” Johnson said.
Not everything on his property survived. Johnson said one horse died from smoke inhalation, and several more are now being treated. Johnson organized a GoFundMe to help with the added costs of the devastation.
“It burned my outbuildings, my shop, 100 or 115 bales of hay, about every acre of grass, I got burned all my corrals down,” Johnson said. “On Thursday, I guess I had, I had enough hay to last me quite a while. And when I woke up Friday morning, I couldn’t find a blade of grass or hay. I couldn’t find a leaf of alfalfa.”
Johnson said he’s grateful to those who went out of their way to help him in the aftermath, including farmers he says brought him hay from hundreds of miles away.
He said he credits the firefighters for saving his own life.
“Five guys saved my house, essentially. Know if it wouldn’t be for them, I’d probably be cooked in the dozer on top of the hill, because I stayed there till the bitter end,” Johnson said.
