Winds funneled fire through canyons to destroy home

A firefighter from Oxford douses the remains of a home in northwest McCook Tuesday afternoon.

Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Gazette

McCOOK, Neb. — A canyon filled with dry pasture grass and dormant and dead trees funneled a wildfire straight toward McCook this afternoon, and eventually engulfed a home on the northwest edge of town.

Nebraska Fire Marshal Ryan Sylvester said this evening he has started his investigation of the cause of the fire. The home in the path of the wildfire is owned by John and Jennifer Kugler, who were not home at the time. A wind vane with John’s trademark yellow and green hot air balloon caught the sunset through the smoke rising from the ashes.

Red Willow Western fire chief Bill Elliott said he would release as much information on the fire as he could Wednesday morning.

His fire department remained on scene throughout the night to extinguish flareups.