Largest wildfire in Nebraska history now nearly 100% contained

The largest wildfire in Nebraska history is nearing 100% containment after a week since the fire, which has consumed more than 600,000 acres, started.

The Morrill Fire in Morrill, Garden, Grant, Arthur and Keith counties remained listed at 643,000 acres on Watch Duty Friday morning, but containment increased significantly to 98%. Containment was listed at 67% on Thursday and just 16% on Wednesday morning.

The Cottonwood Fire in central Nebraska’s Lincoln and Dawson counties was listed at 80% contained. It is listed as having burned 128,000 acres, down from an earlier estimate of over 130,000 acres. Five 20-person crews are constructing fire lines directly on the fire's edge and extinguishing hot spots. Four National Guard helicopters are being used to drop water on burning and smoldering vegetation in the area.

While the increased containment percentages are a bright point in the ongoing wildfire battles, Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Team 1, which is overseeing the Morrill and Cottonwood fires, released an update Friday morning pointing out that containment relates to how "resilient to spread" the fire is, not how much work remains. Much of the burned terrain is in areas that are not easily accessible by vehicles or on foot, and the fires’ perimeters are large. The Morrill Fire has a 399-mile perimeter and the Cottonwood has a 259-mile perimeter, the update stated.

The Road 203 Fire in Thomas and Blaine counties has burned nearly 36,000 acres and is around 80% contained.

Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 3 was leading efforts to fight the Road 203 Fire, but the group shared on social media Thursday that management was being shifted back to local firefighters due to its decreasing complexity after drones were used to identify remaining heat in the area.

The Anderson Bridge Fire in Cherry County remained listed at 17,400 acres burned and at 60% containment Friday morning.

As progress is made on the four wildfires, the National Weather Service is warning of dangerous conditions once again heading into the weekend.

A red flag warning is place until 4 a.m. Sunday as temperatures are expected to top 90 degrees in some areas Saturday, potentially setting records with temperatures up to 40 degrees above normal.

A cold front Saturday night will bring northwesterly gusts in excess of 30 mph, potentially reaching 45 mph from the north into early Sunday.