14 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN June/July 2026 go get his ranch firefighting rig. He is well seasoned when it comes to fighting fire, both on prescribed burns and wildfires. “As I got closer, it was pretty evident it was actually smoke,” Thompson says. He helped the Elwood and Eustis Fire Departments get a corn field that was on fire under control. Once it was cleaned up, he called a neighbor who said the Cottonwood Fire was still 4 to 5 miles away, so Thompson decided to head toward the fire to help. On the way, it became apparent that it was much closer. “I was by myself in the pickup and kind of expected to run into some fire departments or other ranch rigs, but I didn’t see a soul. I was the only one on the road,” Thompson says. “I saw it jumping through the trees north of the intersection, so I started up the pump and was planning to see if I could try to keep it from jumping across the ditch, but once it jumped the ditch, it was moving. It looked like a forest fire.” Thompson managed to get the fire put out in a couple of places while he was keeping his eye on what was going on around him. When he saw the fire rolling in over the hilltop, he knew it was time to go. Resources already spread thin with the vast size of the Morrill Fire were now becoming scarce. Fire crews were trying to navigate foreign terrain that is rugged and unforgiving under the best circumstances. “I actually looked at the map from where I was, and if I had backtracked, it would have been another 12 miles to get over to the next crossroad over,” Thompson explains. “That ground is just so rough. It’s not like the rest of Nebraska, where it’s flat farm ground or the sandhills. The Loess Canyons are pretty rough and are cedar tree-infested in places, so it’s not easy to navigate if you’re not familiar with it. It’s pretty much impossible to get fire stopped in that terrain.” Thompson is a fifth-generation Nebraska cattle rancher. He and his wife, Kenzie, are raising their daughter in the same lifestyle that he was brought up in. His family lost summer pasture that they had planned to run 200 pairs on this summer. “We were fortunate,” Thompson says. “We didn’t have to worry about moving any animals out of the way. We could worry about fighting fire.” Jake Fairley and his wife, Erin, are the fourth generation on her family ranch where they raise their two sons. On Thursday, the fire burned up half of their pasture. As the winds changed, the fire ate up more of their pasture throughout the day on Friday, and by that evening, they had lost almost all of their pasture ground. The winds changed again and, on Saturday, it sent the fire toward their main headquarters. “Everything between Thursday late afternoon and Sunday evening was just fighting fire, helping neighbors, trying to keep it away from neighbors’ houses, barns, hay piles and our own place. Nobody really slept much,” Fairley recalls. In addition to running a cow-calf operation, the Fairleys also own Laird Feed Store in Gothenburg. Erin has been working with others in the community to orchestrate and record the distribution of donations to those in need. “Erin worked really hard to get a computer program up and running similar to the one we use for our bulk system at our feed store,” Fairly says. “We can match donations with people in need. We have been able to collect contact information for Ranchers, firefighters and volunteers alike gather at Laird Feed in Gothenburg to help deliver hay and supplies to those in need. Photo Courtesy of Jake Fairley. Hay donations have arrived from across the country. Jake and Erin Fairley helped to orchestrate hay deliveries from their feed store, Laird Feed, in Gothenburg. CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 TALES FROM THE FIRE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTMxNTA5