Relief fund set up for ND town hit by wildfire

BUCYRUS, N.D. (AP) — A credit union has established a relief fund for residents of Bucyrus after a wildfire all but destroyed the small southwestern North Dakota community and left residents wondering how the town will recover.

Dakota Plains Federal Credit Union, based in Lemmon, S.D., has set up a fund at its branch in Hettinger, which is near Bucyrus. The credit union also has established a $50,000 pool from which to make low-interest loans to fire victims.

The fire fanned by strong winds burned more than five square miles Wednesday, destroying four homes, two vacant farms and a picture-framing business. The cause of the blaze was not immediately determined. The town's two dozen residents evacuated their homes and no one was hurt.

Mike and Evelyn Krug lost their home of 44 years, where they raised six children. Evelyn Krug told The Dickinson Press that she doesn't know how the community will move on.

“All I can say is Lord help me through this and I know he will,” she said. “Seeing this, I don't ever want to come back here again.”

The home of Ardella and Ruben Dschaak was saved, but that couple also wonders about the future.

“There'll be a hell of a cleanup,” Ruben Dschaak told The Bismarck Tribune.

Donations to the Bucyrus Disaster Relief Fund can be sent to Dakota Plains Federal Credit Union, 221 South Main St., P.O. Box 1020, Hettinger, N.D. 58639.

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