As historic wildfires swept across western Nebraska, Lincoln County Commissioner Micaela Wuehler saw firsthand how counties and communities can come together in the face of even the biggest tragedies.
When the fires broke out, emergency personnel poured into Lincoln County, and Wuehler and her fellow Rotarians mobilized volunteers to assist Hot Meals USA, a nonprofit that responds to crises all over the United States to feed those in need.
They set up under an outdoor pavilion at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds, which had become a command center and base camp for hundreds of volunteer firefighters and first responders. As emergency personnel arrived, so did community members and their resources.
“The thing that amazed me the most was that almost every hour, some sort of rig would pull in, bringing something to support the firefighters and first responders. For instance, one day I’m sitting in my car on a conference call when two young men, who I later learned were from Montana, pull into the fairgrounds with this giant aluminum-looking building, and it turns out it was portable showers. The next day, two vehicles pull up with long trailers and open the canopies, and they are wash stations, so people had access to running water to wash their hands before they sat down to eat.”
Wuehler became a point of contact for Hot Meals, volunteers, and the Rock Mountain Incident Command leaders on site. She made calls to other local officials and helped solicit important resources to keep things running smoothly.
“We didn’t have anything other than small trash cans, so I called the North Platte city administrator to ask about getting dumpsters – well, they didn’t have any they could bring, but he said he knew someone who rented them out for a living and gave me a phone number. Less than an hour later, we had a 30-foot roll-off at the fairgrounds. I told the woman to invoice me, and I’d figure out how we could pay for it later, but she said ‘Oh no, there’s no invoice. You guys keep it, fill it as many times as you need to, and let us know when it needs to be dumped.’ Then the city administrator called me back and told me the city was waiving all dump fees for us.”
At any given time, more than 250 responders were sleeping at the fairgrounds, with others stationed across the region. Hot Meals fed them all. By Thursday, March 26, they had served 16,200 meals in just ten days. These efforts were made possible by the people and organizations who volunteered their time and resources.
“I mean, these are historic events, unfortunately, for Nebraska. So much tragedy has come from this. We lost a life, homes, livestock, and our livelihoods. But to see people show up and be so selfless with their time, finances, and equipment has really restored my faith in humanity.”
The relationships Wuehler built with her fellow local officials also proved critically important, and she credited NACO with helping her foster these relationships over the years.
“Being active with NACO and the connections I have built through this organization turned out to be really important. I had Keith County Commissioners calling me and telling me things that I hadn’t even heard from my own team of Lincoln County Commissioners because they were out in the thick of it. I also got a phone call from the Keith County Road Superintendent. He told me he had a really young team, and he needed experienced road operators to send to the fire. So, I called the Keith and Lincoln County Commissioners, and we hurried up and made an interlocal agreement to send six or eight operators up to Keith County to help him out. We were all willing to do that for our fellow counties.”
Hot Meals played an instrumental role in emergency response, and Wuehler wants to make sure their service doesn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated.
Richard Chochran, founder of the organization, was inspired by his experience serving food to victims and first responders after the 2011 Joplin tornado. His dedicated team empowers communities and volunteers to aid in essential recovery operations all over the country. Wuehler said all she needed to do was call on local volunteers to assist.
Cochran’s daughter-in-law, Brenda, has worked with Hot Meals for two-and-a-half years, and said that community response to the western Nebraska wildfires was amazing.
“We had a lot of repeat volunteers. Even when we were done in North Platte and were only serving in Ogallala, we still had those same people driving to continue volunteering. We needed at least 35 volunteers every day, so when we had people showing up for multiple shifts, it made our jobs a lot easier because everyone already had the experience to jump right in.”
Brenda estimated that Hot Meals served upwards of 25,000 meals to first responders, and she reflected on the unique mentality driving people to keep showing up for their community.
“A lot of these volunteers said, you know, ‘I’m not a firefighter. I can’t walk the hills or take a chainsaw to the fallen trees, but I can do this volunteer work or contribute donations to this effort, and that’s the closest I can get to fighting these fires.’”
“That, I think, shows the true spirit of Nebraskans – and even our neighbors from surrounding states,” she said. “When they see an opportunity to help, they’re willing to step up and do that.”
Wuehler said she isn’t sure what the next steps toward repair might look like, but support was already arriving as Hot Meals continued distributing meals and truckloads of hay began rolling in from across the country (and even from as far away as Canada).
“Hot Meals took care of the humans, and now our neighbors are helping take care of our livestock. Knowing that there are always people who will show up really helps you sleep a little bit better at night.”
Hot Meals USA is a nonprofit that relies on donations and volunteers to provide its critical services to communities in need. Click here to give a donation and help ensure they can continue showing up when they’re needed most.
