Discarded Material Blamed For Fire North Of Neligh Sunday

Thirty-five firefighters responded to a fire northwest of Neligh on Sunday night and were on scene for just over 2 1/2 hours.

Neligh Fire Chief Mike Mortensen said the call came in about 6:05 p.m. Sunday and took about 20 minutes to get under control.

“We believe it was caused by discarded net wrap,” Mortensen said. “They had used a hot iron to cut the net wrap off of a bail processor, and I think that ignited the grass.”

Mortensen said the discarded material probably smoldered for a couple of hours before starting the fire, which spread to the unoccupied house to the north.

The fire destroyed about an acre of land, two hay bales and an abandoned home on the property. Mortensen could not estimate the cost of damage and said he was told there was no insurance on the property. 

The property is owned by the Nebraska Department of Education and leased by Dave Wright of Neligh.