After massive weekend blaze, Sterling Fire Department talks burning, fire safety

LOGAN COUNTY, CO - The panhandle of Nebraska and plains of eastern Colorado are dealing with severe fire conditions day in and day out and that was on full display this weekend.

Fire crews from Sterling, Crook, Peetz, and Merino responded to a fire in Padroni on Sunday afternoon. The cause of the fire was still being investigated as of Tuesday afternoon. The blaze brought heavy black smoke and structural damage, says Sterling Fire Chief Lavon Ritter.

“While we were in route, we were advised it was the old school house that as on fire,” Ritter said. “When we got there, we found the structure was completely involved in the fire, there was a field fire going on as well.”

After about 10 minutes of fire attack, the the old school building began its fall.

“From there it was pretty much just mop up after that,” Ritter said.

Crews did save a house that caught fire, which was the same house that led to the initial call in.

“The gentleman the lived in the house that we saved, he said someone pulled up in a pickup and told him his field was on fire,” Ritter said. “He went out there, the fire had already butted up against the school building that burned down. By the time they called 911, the fire was inside the building, and like I said, when we got there, the building was fully involved in fire."

A dry field in conditions such as low humidity and regular highs in the mid-upper 90-’s can be the equivalent to a tinder box. That’s why Ritter is encouraging safe burning.

“Any kind of open burning, be safe about it,” Ritter said. “Have some way of controlling the fire. Call and let us know you’re doing controlled burns. If you think you might be losing control of the fire, call us early, so we can prevent it from becoming a bigger issue.”

Many people believe fire to only be a real threat when red flag conditions persist. According to Chief Ritter, anything remotely close to a red flag warning, under current conditions, should be considered as such.

“Even though the criteria doesn’t meet red flag, it’s borderline red flag conditions every single day,” Ritter said. “People can see how dry it is out in the fields, so if we have any sort of fire and wind at all, it’s going to be a challenge.”