Community Stands Strong in Face of Disaster

By: Kim Eiten - Email

Updated: Fri 6:23 AM, Jul 27, 2012

Dozens of agencies from across Nebraska and the Midwest are fighting fire to save farmland, but it started with local volunteers battling the blaze to save their own.

Ainsworth resident Becky O'Hare said one picture sums it all up.

"It's Firemen moving cattle out of the way of the fire," she said. "That's typical up here. Somebody asked, 'well where's the owner?' The fireman may have been the owner."

It's a battle that's since gained national support.

But, when it all started a week ago, those on the front lines were fighting for their own land, their neighbor's land and the livelihood of North Central Nebraska.

"With these old established ranches, it's a hereditary thing," Ainsworth resident Julie Kurzenberger said. "We maintain our own. We take care of our own."

They said even in this time of disaster, welcoming in outside authorities has been a transition and a difficult one at that. But, they said they're grateful for the extra help.

"We probably would not have asked," Kurzenberger said. "We probably would have stayed here to maintain our own, and people have just been coming in and saying let us help you."

And, organizations like the Red Cross, Salvation Army and countless federal agencies are doing just that.

It's a big change for small, closely knit communities.

"It's hard for a lot of these old, established ranchers to accept help," Kurzenberger said.

It's help that's temporary. Those resources will slowly fade away as the fire winds down.

Then, it's on the community to support one another.

But, almost anyone from the area will say that's nothing new.

"The community, like they said, is tight. They'll help each other," Ainsworth resident Tod O'Hare said. "I don't know how they'll recover for sure. We'll get them through."

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