The Prairie Club narrowly escapes wildfire damage near Valentine

VALENTINE, Neb. — A fast-moving wildfire that tore through parts of the Nebraska Sandhills came dangerously close to The Prairie Club and nearby homes last Thursday, forcing evacuations and leaving residents fearing the worst.

The fire, which started south of Kilgore, was driven by strong winds through a canyon and toward the nationally known golf destination and a surrounding housing development.

Gary Craft, whose home sits next to The Prairie Club, said he knew the situation was serious as soon as he saw smoke building.

“We saw the plumes of smoke coming in. I called the sheriff, and he put me onto the fire department to ask. They said that it was headed our way, and we needed to evacuate,” said Craft.

Craft said he and others rushed to leave, though he briefly returned to turn on sprinklers before being ordered out by authorities.

After evacuating, he monitored his home through surveillance cameras as flames moved closer.

“We saw the flames coming down the pasture, and then we lost our cameras about 9:00. We assumed that’s when it was engulfed in fire,” he said.

At The Prairie Club, staff were also preparing for the worst.

Andrew Getty said he had been taking advantage of unseasonably warm weather to prepare the course’s irrigation system for spring — a decision that proved critical.

“There’s some years where we don’t have the irrigation ready to go this time of year. The fact that we had the irrigation turned on was really part of the miracle too,” said Getty.

As smoke thickened and flames approached, Getty and a coworker activated the system to help protect the property.

“At that time, we started getting a lot of smoke on property. We could tell the fire was growing and getting closer. It looked like it was headed straight towards us,” Getty said.

Getty was eventually forced to evacuate but continued operating the irrigation system remotely overnight.

“We grabbed what we could. We ran as much irrigation as we could. Then I grabbed my computer from my office. I took that home and was able to remote link to our irrigation system from town and continue to keep water running if we needed to throughout the night,” he said.

The Prairie Club, which draws thousands of visitors to the Sandhills each summer, is considered a major economic driver for the region.

News of the fire spread quickly, including to those building homes nearby.

Rod Jeck, of Springfield, said he learned about the situation late Thursday night and feared for his property, which is still under construction.

“Thursday night I found out about 10:00. It’s the worst at that point because it’s dark. It was early in the stages of it, so it was a sleepless night,” said Jeck.

Construction materials, including floor trusses and sheathing, were left exposed.

“I’m thankful for the excavation. It probably kept the fire from getting into those bunks of material,” he said.

Despite how close the flames came, neither the home under construction nor materials were damaged.

Back at The Prairie Club, staff continued monitoring for hot spots Friday as some areas continued to smolder.

Getty said an unexpected change in weather also helped crews.

“We came in Friday morning. It was kind of a surprise. There wasn’t much chance of precipitation in the forecast, but we had about an inch of nice wet snow,” he said.

In the end, the golf course avoided significant damage.

“We’re just so blessed. With stuff still smoldering, I don’t know if we’re done yet, and I don’t know when we’ll feel completely safe, maybe a heavy rain or snow, but at least today we can count our blessings that Thursday night was not as bad as we feared it was when we were evacuating,” Getty said.

At Craft’s property, the fire destroyed a toolshed and his electrical box.

“That’s when our cameras and everything went out. At that time again, we thought everything was gone,” he said.

But despite the losses, his home, along with others in the development, was spared.

“There was no way when we left that it was going to be here, so we were extremely grateful,” said Craft.

He said it’s difficult to fully express his appreciation for those who helped protect the area.

“To the firefighters and all of the volunteers,” he said, becoming emotional.

Homes still standing, a golf course intact and a community expressing gratitude — all after a wildfire that came within reach.