It was the kind of storm residents of Central Kansas will remember for years — sustained high winds with gusts of more than 100 miles an hour, wildfires, blowing dust.

They also probably won’t forget the kindness of neighbors and strangers, many of whom offered labor, materials and even livestock to replace fences, hay and other items lost in what is being called a “Four County Fire”. The flames touched almost everything in their path — including homes, horses and cattle — across almost 400,000 acres of Russell, Osborne, Ellis and Rooks counties.

Ellsworth County was fortunate. Ellsworth Fire Chief Bob Kepka said his volunteer firefighters received numerous calls, including reports of two relatively minor grassfires during the Wednesday, Dec. 15 storm, including one north of Ellsworth that burned cattle.

In-town damage was mostly limited to fallen tree limbs and fences, broken windows and flying shingles.

“We dodged a bullet,” Kepka told the I-R on Monday.

Wilson takes hit

Wilson Mayor Mike Peschka said his daughter in California texted him to warn about a forecast she heard for Kansas that predicted 90-mile-an-hour winds.

He was about to respond when the storm hit. Next came a call from a city worker — the Otasco building, which already had a hole in its back wall, suffered more damage and the bricks had fallen into the street.

Peschka and city workers made their way to the historic building on main street to erect barricades as the wind picked up more debris and sent it flying through town.

“The wind was so bad you couldn’t even hold the barricades,” the mayor said.

Also damaged was the Somers Hardware building, also on main street, and the west side of the Baptist Church on the east edge of Wilson.

Offers of help started pouring in as soon as the wind calmed down. The town’s restaurants stayed open late to accommodate citizens without electricity, which was most of the town. One restaurant offered delivery at no charge and food for a free will donation.

Shortly before Peschka talked to the I-R, a resident borrowed the mayor’s pickup truck to go around town and help clean up tree limbs and other debris.

The mayor said city workers and volunteers made the storm’s aftermath easier to handle. We had a lot of neighbors just helping neighbors,” Peschka said.

Others volunteered their time at the Wilson Senior Center, which has a backup generator. Peschka said the town was without power for about 24 hours.

“If you’re a business or a homeowner, you might not agree with this, but, overall, from the city’s standpoint, we got through it pretty well,” he said.

And then there were two

Keith Haberer, director of emergency management for Ellsworth and Russell counties, had his own problems as the Dec. 15 windstorm ripped through the area. Sustained winds of about 85 miles an hour produced at least one gust of 107 mph in the town of Russell, he said.

Conditions spawned wildfires, the worst of which moved from Ellis County and into Russell County just as firefighters thought they had an earlier blaze under control.

“We got overrun by Ellis County’s fire,” Haberer said. “There’s fire everywhere now.”

The flames eventually burned 150,000 acres in Russell County before the wind changed direction, allowing firefighters to bring them under control, roughly 20 miles east of the Ellis County line.

Fire departments from Wilson, Kanopolis and Lorraine responded to Haberer’s call for mutual aid.

Haberer, a former firefighter at Colby in far western Kansas, said he watched several years ago as a windstorm blew the roof off the high school at his former home. Still, he has not experienced anything like the Dec. 15 gale.

He said the Colby damage came from one gust of wind; the most recent storm contained high winds that started at 11 a.m. and grew worse until they finally died away about eight hours later.

How much damage was done in that time has yet to be determined. In a news release Monday, Western Cooperative Electric

In a news release Monday, Western Cooperative Electric of WaKeeney, which serves the City of Ellsworth, said the storm caused “massive damage to our electrical power system.” About 70 percent or 8,200 customers were without power after the storm. Lost were 350 power poles and many pieces of communication equipment.

“At this point, only 60 meters remain left to be restored, general manager Tom Ruth said in a video. “Although we will not be satisfied until power has been restored to all meters — and we have more work to do — it has taken a monumental effort to get to this point.”

The Beloit-based Rolling Hills Electric reported 59 meters without power Monday morning, including three homes. The cooperative’s Central Kansas service territory includes Wilson.

Farmers and ranchers in need of help

There are ways to help the farmers and ranchers affected by this past week’s windstorm and fires.

The Ellsworth County Farm Bureau Association Board has established a Farmers and Ranchers Relief Fund at Citizens State Bank to assist with losses and injuries. Donations will benefit Ellsworth County farmers and ranchers first, and then, if funds allow, the association plans to reach out to neighbors affected by the Four County Fire. Farm Bureau membership is not required to receive funds. For more information, call Ellsworth County Farm Bureau, (785) 472-8914.

Marcia Gier, 4-H agent for the Midway Extension District of Russell and Ellsworth counties, is working with the Emergency Management Service at Russell to direct donations. She was on the telephone almost all day Monday fielding telephone calls, including one from an ag relief organization in Michigan.

“It’s incredible how many people are coming together for this,” said Gier, who ended up working this past Saturday and Sunday to accept donations.

She said fencing supplies and hay are two of the bigger needs right now in the Four County Fire area.

Haberer said cash is especially welcome following a disaster. It allows the recipients to buy supplies locally, thus helping the economy during a time of stress.

Cash also helps local governments replace the property taxes they lose when a house and other assets are destroyed.

Gier’s telephone number is (785) 844-5746. The Midway Extension office at Ellsworth, (785) 472-4442, also is accepting telephone calls from those in need of help or those who wish to donate.