Nebraska wildfires grow as officials worry about upcoming weather

The largest wildfire in Nebraska history continues to grow, although fire officials say they are making some progress against it.

The Morrill Fire, which is burning in Morrill, Grant, Arthur and Keith counties, has now consumed about 572,000 acres, which is up slightly from about 550,000 acres earlier in the weekend.

Rob Powell with Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team One said the Morrill Fire is seeing a “moderate level of fire progression.”

But Powell also said that firefighters are also making “good progress” against the fire, which has been confirmed as the largest in Nebraska history and one of the 30 largest in U.S. history.

“We got good progress. Started up yesterday due to the break of weather, didn't see much activity going on,” Powell said in the team’s daily video update. “We are continuing to go around this fire as direct as possible.”

Still, the fire is considered to be 0% contained.

The Cottonwood Fire, which has now burned about 122,000 acres in Dawson and Lincoln counties, making it the second-biggest single fire in Nebraska history, also is considered 0% contained.

Powell said fire crews “had some activity” Sunday around Jeffrey Lake, an area where homeowners had earlier been forced to evacuate. However, he said crews were able to contain the fires quickly.

The Road 203 Fire near Halsey has grown to nearly 36,000 acres, although the Road 203 Fire Incident Management Team said in an update that’s largely due to updated mapping rather than additional fire growth.

Officials said they have observed “creeping fire behavior” and expressed concern that groups of cedar trees may be retaining heat that could reignite fires.

The officials also said they are concerned about the weather in the coming days, noting that 60-degree temperatures are forecast for Tuesday, with even higher temperatures later in the week, which will be combined with ongoing low humidity.

“Although winds are expected to moderate, warming temperatures and dry fuels could lead to more active fire behavior later in the week,” the Road 203 Fire Incident Management Team said in a Facebook post Monday.

The other fire still burning in Nebraska is the Anderson Bridge Fire in Cherry County, which currently sits at over 16,000 acres.

Cherry and Keya Paha County Emergency Management said in a Sunday Facebook post that moisture that fell in the form of snow helped to somewhat keep the fire in check. However, a Monday Facebook post expressed concern about the weather in the coming days, with highs in the area forecast to be in the upper 70s starting Wednesday, with low humidity.