Ranchers Seek $272K Damages for Fire

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- More than one year after a controlled burn in Brown County, Nebraska, got out of control and torched up to 8,000 acres, a ranch family still is trying to recover about $272,000 for 46 cows killed and other losses.

Johnstown, Nebraska, ranchers Justin and Haley Miller sued the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission as well as neighboring rancher Jack King Sr. and family members in a county court alleging they were responsible for a fire on April 21, 2025, that led to the cattle deaths in the Plum Creek region of the Sandhills.

While the Millers alleged that both the state and King were responsible for the damage, the state of Nebraska later filed counterclaims that the Kings were responsible.

One of the Millers' many claims was they were not notified of a plan to burn to allow them to move cattle from nearby pastures.

The lawsuit said in preparation for a prescribed burn on land owned by Jack King Sr. and Marsha King in Brown County, Nebraska Game and Parks and the King family ignited test fires in two locations.

Nebraska Game and Parks employees shut down the burn because of swirling winds, the lawsuit said.

"The Kings objected to shutting down the planned burn, asserting that doing so would waste time and noting that various personnel were on site to participate in the burn," according to the complaint.

"In response to the Kings' objections, the employees of the state of Nebraska oversaw and conducted a burning procedure called 'blacklining operations.' The defendants ignited fires for at least two 'blacklining operations' and lost control of the fires. Over the course of the next three days, approximately 6,000 to 8,000 acres burned as a result of the fires ignited by the defendants."

Blacklining is a practice of pre-burning buffer strips of vegetation directly adjacent to a control line before a main burn is lit.

The Millers said in the lawsuit they lost cows valued at about $161,000. In addition, the family said it lost the use of up to 3,500 pasture acres they rented for the 2025 season and incurred tens of thousands of dollars in other losses.

DTN reached out to the attorneys for the Miller and King families, as well as counsel for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, seeking comment.

The Millers originally filed a claim with the state of Nebraska on the losses sustained in July 2025. But after more than six months, the claims were not paid and the family filed the lawsuit.

NEBRASKA COUNTERCLAIMS

In June 2026, the state filed a response to the Millers' lawsuit, including a counterclaim that the Kings were responsible for the out-of-control fire.

"Jack King, Sr., Jack King, Jr., or Colt King acted as the 'burn boss' on the day of the burn and had the responsibility to decide whether or not to proceed with the burn described in the plaintiffs' complaint," the state said in a filing four months after the initial lawsuit was filed.

"The individual who acted as the burn boss breached his duty of care owed to the plaintiffs by deciding to proceed with the burn. As the landowner who executed an agreement with NGPC (Nebraska Game and Parks), Jack King, Sr. agreed to retain 'all responsibility for taxes, assessments and damage claims' on his property. He further agreed that NGPC 'assumes no liability for damage or injury other than that caused by its own negligence' on the property."

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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