Rural fire departments faced strong winds while battling grass fire north of Lincoln

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Several rural fire departments battled a grass fire Wednesday afternoon in northern Lancaster County.

Raymond Volunteer Fire & Rescue crews were called to the grass fire near Highway 77 and Mill Road around 1:30 p.m.

The department said strong winds provided a challenge for firefighters.

“With the strong winds the fire moved fast and tried to jump the road towards a neighboring residence,” officials said in a Facebook post.

But the fire was quickly put out, Raymond Fire Chief Nick Monnier said Thursday.

Firefighters from Waverly, Malcolm, Valparaiso and Ceresco were also called in to help extinguish the flames.

A farmer brought a water truck, and a neighbor brough a loader to bury a brush pile, Monnier said.

No structures were lost, but two were threatened, he said.

Monnier blamed the fire on sparks from an all-terrain vehicle.

He said if an ATV is idling in grass, the exhaust is hot enough to ignite the grass without a spark.

In a Facebook post, the Raymond Volunteer Fire & Rescue said strong winds provided a challenge for firefighters.

“With the strong winds the fire moved fast and tried to jump the road towards a neighboring residence,” officials said in the post.

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