Submitted Photo A panel at the 2024 wildfires remembrance held in Watford City included impacted landowner Perry Ecker; Ryan Melin of the North Dakota Forest Service; and Watford City Fire Chief Dave Uhlich. Karolin Jappe, McKenzie County emergency manager, moderated the panel.

WATFORD CITY – Among the impacted landowners, community leaders and first responders gathered for a public remembrance of the October 2024 wildfires held in Watford City recently was the widow of Johannes Nicolaas van Eeden, traveling from South Africa to visit the place of her late husband’s last days.

Edgar Coppersmith and van Eeden both tragically lost their lives due to impacts from the wildfires, according to North Dakota Emergency Services.

The “Community Strong: Remembering the 2024 October Wildfires and T

See Full Page