'Small but Mighty': How Rural Clay County Emergency Management responded to the worst winter storm since 2009

CLAY CENTER, Neb. – Covering 574 square miles and responsible for housing around 6,000 Nebraskans, the Clay County Emergency Management team had their hands full with winter weather emergencies over the past week. 

Clay Center is the county seat of Clay County, which houses roughly 760 residents, and holds the Emergency Management Department and Sheriff's Office. 

Emergency Manager Haley Malone has lived in Clay Center her entire life and took over the EM position in 2020. She said gusting winds and blowing snow led to problems late last week. 

"Our rural roads didn't even get touched for several days because of the winds." said Malone. 

Dangerous winds and more than eight inches of snowfall smothered much of the Central Nebraska region last week. Malone recalls it being the worst winter storm in Central Nebraska since 2009. 

Last Saturday was when the Emergency Management team was put to the test. Their 911 center received a distress call from a semi-truck hauling cattle that got stuck in the middle of Highway 41, a few miles east of Clay Center. 

Malone, along with the Sheriff's Department, the Fire Department, and the County Roads Department had to plow a way out to the semi due to blowing snow making the road impassable. The driver and all of the cattle were saved with no injuries to anyone involved in the subzero temperatures. 

"We had a lot of stranded vehicles," said Malone. "We had farmers helping to get stuck vehicles out, we had the Sheriff's Office that went and retrieved individuals and got them to shelter." 

That semi-truck wasn't the only vehicles in peril trying to pass the impassable roads. The Edgar Fire Department had to rescue two travelers that were stranded on a rural highway.

Malone said Clay County 911 received upwards of 80 phone calls from people needing assistance. She said the small but mighty community stepped up.

"It's Nebraska...We know it's coming, we just don't know when," said Malone. "Our County roads department does an excellent job making sure things are open and trying to get things open as quickly as they can. They work a lot of long hours, and have put in 18-hour days (before)."

Even though Clay County Emergency Management hadn't dealt with a storm like this in 15 years, everyone involved was able to keep in-town roads in each Clay County city drivable for the most part, allowing residents to visit local stores to stock up on food and water even during the worst days of the storm.

"We have plans, there are people available to help in each of our communities," said Malone. "It's small town Nebraska, we usually do pretty good at taking care of ourselves and taking care of our friends and neighbors."