Chadron State campus has close call with wildfire

For many years, the campus will have a different view to the south. The ponderosa pine trees that stood so majestically on C Hill, the landmark that has overlooked the college and the community since the 1920s, have burned. But thanks to gallant efforts by firemen and Chadron State maintenance and grounds workers, the campus was saved.

While the fire was still a couple of miles to the south, sending off huge plumes of smoke, college personnel began stringing hoses and irrigation pipes on the south side of the campus. Finally, a large trench was dug on the hillside just south of the CSC football practice fields. Much of the way, the fire burned right up to the trench.

At one point, college workers even used hoses to wet the roof of the Nelson Physical Activity Center, the college’s southern most building.

Also helping spare the campus is the fact that the football practice fields, where the sprinklers were running full blast as the smoke billowed in the background, provides about a 100-yard buffer between the hills and the buildings in the middle of the campus.

As the smoke poured into Chadron, a Forest Service spokesman reportedly said the CSC campus, because of its athletic fields, well-manicured lawns and paved parking lots, might have been the safest place to be in the community.

As of Saturday morning, Chadron State appears to be safe from further threat. For one thing, most of the fuel leading to the campus has already been burned.

Dr. Janie Park, president of Chadron State, said she is extremely grateful for the efforts put forth to contain the fire as much as possible.

The college’s High Rise residence hall is serving as the Incident Command Post for personnel who are providing support for the dozens of firemen who are battling the blaze and trying to keep tabs on what may happen today.

Ted Schenck, facilities unit leader from the U.S. Forest Service's regional office in Denver, said about 160 people have checked in at the High Rise.

The fire that threatened Chadron State is known as the “Strong Canyon Fire” because Strong Canyon runs about eight miles to the south of Chadron on the east side of Highway 385. The fire also has been referred to as the Spotted Tail Fire.

There are at least two or three more major fires in Dawes and Sioux Counties. All apparently were caused by a lightning storm that swept from west to east through the area Tuesday night.