The Valentine Volunteer Fire Department was called out about 7 pm Wednesday evening, jUNE 29, 2022, to a report of a dumpster fire in front of the Dollar General Store on East Highway 20 in Valentine. The dumpster was a large roll off full of construction material during a remodel of the retail store. Fire Chief Terry Engles told KVSH news that it is believed the fire started from discarded smoking materials. What made the fire more serious was the proximity of the propane bottles located in front of the store. Crews were on the scene about 30 minutes.
Later in the evening, the Valentine firemen were called out again for mutual aid to help the Keya Paha Fire Department who found themselves battling numerous small fires believed to have started from lightening from an earlier passing storm. The Valentine crew helped with a fire south of the Cub Creek area for about 90 minutes.
Civil Air Patrol crews flew the area this morning to see if any fires remained. At this time it looks all clear.