‘Just missed one spark’: Lancaster County farmer speaks on combine mechanical failure that led to 300-acre blaze

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - A Sunday afternoon fire that led to the first Lancaster County all-call response in two years was caused by an overheated combine pulley, Lancaster County Sheriff’s office revealed Monday morning.

Mick Minchow has farmed his uncle’s land near 84th and Branched Oak for years.

On Sunday afternoon, he was harvesting corn with the combine he has used for nearly half a decade when he realized something was wrong.

“Looked under my hood, and the belt was melting.” he said.

The combines pulley had overheated, causing a belt to break, and sparks to fall onto the dry cornfield he was working in.

A few small fires ignited, which Minchow and his crew quickly tried putting out.

“My auger wagon driver stayed behind,” Minchow said. “He stomped out two pieces of fire and thought, ‘Okay, we’re lucky.' By the time he got halfway down the hill he turned around and the field was engulfed. We took our best efforts. We just missed one spark."

Dry conditions and winds over 20 miles per hour caused the fire to spread quickly.

“It took probably less than a minute,” Minchow said. “It just jumped so fast. I turned around and looked and I said ‘Just call the fire department.’”

Waverly Fire and Rescue and Ceresco’s volunteer department were the first to respond. When the blaze jumped across Branched Oak Road, and then 84th street, the decision was made to declare a county-wide emergency to others.

In total, 16 departments showed up. They worked for just over three hours to clear the fire.

Minchow said that the combine that sparked the fire was inspected before each harvest season, and that nothing indicated this might happen was found before this year.

Minchow said that while many of the crops he was harvesting where lost, he was just glad to see the quick response by volunteer firefighters to control the flames and ensure no one was injured.

“I’m just so thankful for those firefighters," Minchow said. “I just... my gosh. I am in awe. Thank you. I just didn’t want anyone to get hurt."

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