RAY, N.D. (KFYR) – The wildfires that ravaged sections of northwestern North Dakota this past weekend not only took out tens of thousands of acres of land, livestock and outbuildings, but they also took the life of Johannes Nicolaas Van Eaden, a farmhand from South Africa.

As fires tore through pastures in Ray, North Dakota, on Saturday, the Wolla family tried to call Nicolaas Van Eaden numerous times with no answer. They later discovered he had died from injuries sustained during the fire.

Van Eaden will be remembered as a man with a big work ethic and an even bigger heart.

His former high-school classmate from Western Cape, South Africa, said he was a very good and honest man.

“He was a go-getter and went above and beyond to do what was necessary,” said Dewet Gunter.

A co-worker of Van Eaden’s on the Wolla’s farm and cattle ranch said he will miss Van Eaden dearly, adding that he had gone from a co-worker to a friend and eventually a brother.

“He was one of those guys that always wanted to put in the hours and the time and the effort to get the job done. Even when I tried to slack, he would tell me, ‘Listen, no man, let’s do this.’ He was my support, this side. Now that he’s gone, it’s tough, you know. It’s not easy,” said co-worker Jacques Nel.

Van Eaden was scheduled to fly home to South Africa in three weeks to be with his wife during the birth of their child.

The fires in Ray, Alamo and Tioga in Williams County are 90% contained. Crews are actively fighting flare-ups.

Copyright 2024 KFYR. All rights reserved.

FARGO — With the dry weather extending to the Red River Valley, there are ways farmers can prevent fires from starting as the harvest season continues.

Angie Johnson, NDSU Extension Farm and Ranch Safety Coordinator, said there are a variety of ways farm equipment can create a spark, including hitting a rock in the field with a piece of equipment, or if a bearing goes out because it’s damaged or worn.

That can ignite chaff, dust or debris on a combine that’s not properly cleaned in seconds.

“Try to be diligent, don’t just wait until the end of the day to blow it off, take a more aggressive approach,” Johnson said. “You know, using an air compressor, blowing off that machine can really make the difference in preventing a combine fire.”

She also says to know where the fire extinguishers are on your combine and how to properly use them.

DRISCOLL, N.D. — Heavy equipment had to be brought in to clear Interstate 94 near here on Monday, Oct. 7, after three vehicles hit livestock that had congregated on the roadway.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol said the incident occurred on I-94 near Driscoll, approximately 35 miles east of Bismarck, at around 1 a.m.

Sgt. Jeremiah Bohn said a large amount of cattle escaped from an adjacent pasture and gathered on both eastbound and westbound lanes of I-94 under the Exit 190 overpass.

In the dark of night, he said, the black cattle were difficult to see.

A semi and a passenger vehicle, both eastbound, separately struck cattle, as did a westbound passenger vehicle.

There were minor injuries to the people involved, and 25 cattle were killed.

“It was a big mess,” Bohn said, adding that the state Department of Transportation deployed multiple snowplows and a street sweeper to clear and clean both lanes of the interstate.

The semi, driven by 57-year-old Ewert Nel of Edmore, hit the cattle first, went into the median and overturned.

A small fire started on the truck but was put out right away with fire extinguishers. Nel was wearing a seat belt and was not injured, the patrol said.

Soon after, a westbound Ford Fusion driven by Dina Diamanti, 41, of Bigelow, Minnesota, struck livestock in the roadway.

Also in the vehicle were passengers Anderson Casteava, 20, of Bigelow, a 13-year-old female and a 16-year-old male.

Everyone in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt and was checked for possible minor injuries, Bohn said.

The third vehicle to hit the cattle was an eastbound Ford Escape driven by Kaycee Anderson, 26, of Napoleon, North Dakota.

She also was wearing a seat belt and suffered minor cuts and bruises, the patrol said.

The cattle were owned by Gerald Schmidt, 60, of Bismarck.

During the response and cleanup, traffic was routed onto exit ramps and back down to the interstate, bypassing the overpass.

The westbound lanes of I-94 at Exit 190 reopened at approximately 5:05 a.m., while the eastbound lanes opened about an hour later, the patrol said.