Nebraska officials say federal fire help is ‘underway,’ but they’re also seeking assistance from other states

Nebraska’s state leaders on Saturday struck an uncertain tone on federal financial assistance in their updates on the wildfires burning in western and central Nebraska.

Four wildfires continue to burn this weekend after igniting on Thursday during windy and warm conditions. One person has died in connection to the Morrill Fire, the biggest fire burning, which tore through 450,000 acres between Morrill, Garden, Arthur and Keith counties in 48 hours. Firefighters are making ground on the Morrill Fire, but winds are expected to ramp back up Sunday. Pillen said the Morrill Fire’s ignition was “electrical by nature,” and the cause behind the Road 203 Fire, which has burned at least 40,000 acres near Halsey, in the Nebraska National Forest, was “pretty confirmed” to have started from a previous federal government burn.

Dozens of Nebraska volunteer fire departments have made the trip to Nebraska’s Panhandle and central areas to help local crews battle the flames. The Keystone-Lemoyne fire chief on Saturday estimated that 36 different departments were in Keith County helping limit the spread. At least six departments with 60 personnel were based in Morrill County.

During his update to reporters on Saturday, Gov. Jim Pillen said he’s called mayors in several of eastern Nebraska’s biggest cities, including Omaha, Lincoln and Columbus, to help.

“If we have a whole bunch of trucks come from Omaha and we don't use them, thank God,” Pillen said. “But we're going to make sure we don't wake up with any ‘should’ve, could’ve, would’ve.’ We're not sparing a penny. We are getting all resources, all hands on deck.”

Pillen is also contacting the governors of neighboring states, including Iowa’s Gov. Kim Reynolds, to see if there’s extra water or resources to spare.

“They obviously are between the rivers. They get lots more rain, and maybe there’s a chance that we can get some Iowa resources here. That would probably make the most sense when we think about our surrounding states – dry to the north, dry to the south. I think Iowa has been in a lot better situation.”

Pillen said the White House “didn’t blink” in Nebraska’s request for federal assistance.

“FEMA has been contacted, so that’s all underway, and that process is happening. I think that one thing that’s incredibly important is for the days ahead – for what’s taken place – that everybody has confidence that we will have FEMA assistance. That means that, that covers 75% of our expenses. And the State of Nebraska is doing great. State of Nebraska will cover 25%.”

But leaders also said they were unsure of how much the feds could help. They cited natural disasters in other states that may also need federal resources.

U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts was also in attendance during the Saturday briefing, and he said he’s working with the federal government to help get aid to Nebraska.

“Part of the challenge we got is other states are facing the same challenges we are with regard to this fire. It’s been dry all across this part of the country, and the weather is hitting the other states, as well as us, but the governor is working to get as much resources for you here, and as a federal delegation, we’ll support the emergency declaration and work to see what federal resources can back up the State of Nebraska.”

State leaders have not confirmed it yet, but the Morrill Fire, having already burned around 450,000 acres, is likely the largest wildfire in Nebraska’s modern history. It almost surpasses the number of acres burned throughout all of 2012, when the state saw the highest number of acres burned by wildfires in history.

Ricketts and 3rd District Rep. Adrian Smith said they want to ensure the state is supported as the firefighting stretches into the third day.

“We have a great communication relationship, and it’s ‘Team Nebraska.’ It’s all hands on deck, but certainly to empower state officials, local officials, and obviously, there’s a lot of moving parts to this, and the planners, especially emergency managers at the local level…that’s key. We want to make your job easier, not more difficult,” Smith said.

Sen. Deb Fischer, who’s from Cherry County, one of the counties seeing a large wildfire, was not in attendance, but the federal delegation members said she’s been in contact, receiving updates.

The fires are spreading as the Federal Emergency Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is firing workers in areas that are recovering from disasters. President Trump has repeatedly said that he believes FEMA is ineffective and should be eliminated as it currently exists. In March 2025, the president signed an executive order directing state and local governments to “play a more active and significant role” in preparing for disasters.

Officials in North Carolina celebrated earlier this week when the president fired Kristi Noem as his Department of Homeland Security head, saying she had held up hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of recovery funding from 2024 flooding and landslides. Noem has implemented a policy that required her to sign off on any FEMA expenditures of more than $100,000. State officials there are hoping they can acquire more federal assistance now.

Nebraska Sen. Paul Strommen, who represents much of the area in which the Morrill Fire is burning, told Nebraska Public Media News at the briefing that he feels confident about the federal government’s assistance, and that the federal delegation is doing what they can to ensure aid gets to Nebraska.

“They've been extremely clear on how they're going to get us that help, financially, and when it comes to bringing in the National Guard and bringing folks in... I mean, you saw the number of people that were in here this morning. They've reached out. They've assured us that those people are going to be here, and I've got no reason not to trust that those people aren't going to be here, and that that funding isn't going to come in.”