Omaha, Lincoln, Columbus send crews to help battle Nebraska wildfires

Fire departments across Nebraska have heeded Gov. Jim Pillen’s call to send personnel and equipment to help fight what are likely the worst wildfires in the state’s history.

On Saturday, during a press conference after he toured wildfire locations, Pillen said he called mayors in several of eastern Nebraska’s biggest cities, including Omaha, Lincoln and Columbus, to help.

Those cities have all responded.

The Omaha Fire Department said it was sending eight members of its department along with an engine, a water tender and a brush truck to Keith County to help fight the Cottonwood and Morrill wildfires. The team was scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. Sunday morning.

Omaha Fire Chief Kathy Bossman said in a news release that the OFD team members would be deployed for up to seven days to help assist in fighting those fires. She said it was the first time in several decades the department has sent crews outside of the Omaha area.

“Our hearts go out to the residents of Keith County,” Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr. said in the release. “Omaha stands ready to support our neighbors.”

Lincoln Fire & Rescue said Saturday night that it had mobilized an 11-member team to support wildfire response in western Nebraska.

"The LFR team will assist and support crews on the front lines who have been protecting communities and working to limit the spread of the fires,” the department said in a Facebook post.

The Columbus Fire Department also said that it was sending a crew of six fire personnel along with a grass fire rig. It said in a Facebook post that it has committed its members to a 48-hour deployment.

First District Rep. Mike Flood said he was proud to see the response.

"You know, it warms my heart to see, like, Lincoln Fire and Rescue, Columbus, Nebraska, Battle Creek Volunteer Fire all heading west in teams of anywhere from four to 12 people, firefighters ready to answer the call," Flood said in a call with the media. "Out in Morrill County, out in Keith County, all of these counties that are under siege from these massive wildfires.”

The teams will join nearly 30 members of the Nebraska National Guard along with dozens of other fire departments in fighting wildfires that already have burned more acres of land than any in the state’s history.

The worst year for wildfires on record in the state is 2012, when a little more than 500,000 acres had burned statewide. As of Saturday, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency reported that the three largest fires – The Morrill Fire, the Cottonwood Fire near Gothenburg and the Road 203 Fire near Halsey had burned more than 600,000 acres combined. Some estimates have now put the Morrill Fire itself at over 500,000 acres.

The fires have killed one person, damaged or destroyed numerous buildings and led to several evacuations.

The American Red Cross on Sunday announced that it is operating a shelter at the Brady Community Center at 121 N. Main Street in Brady for people who have been displaced from their homes.

The Red Cross said it also is working with partners to support a respite center in North Platte, where firefighters can access meals, snacks, showers and a place to rest between shifts.

The Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team, a federal interagency task force made up of local, state, and federal personnel from Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming , announced Saturday that it has been tabbed to take over command of firefighting efforts for both the Morrill and Cottonwood fires. The team had already been tabbed to spearhead efforts to fight the Road 203 fire.

Crews hoping for relief from the high winds that have driven the fires will have to wait at least one more day. As of Sunday morning, the entire state was in a high wind warning, with gusts of up to 60-65 miles per hour expected.

Already as of 7 a.m. Sunday morning, North Platte and Ogallala had recorded wind gusts of over 50 miles per hour.

Scott Beecham, with the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Team, said local fire departments have done a great job fighting the fires, but they need relief, which is one of the reasons the team was called in to assist.

“They’re starting to get tired and overwhelmed, and we’re here to bring in extra resources to get some relief for those folks,” Beacham said in a Sunday YouTube video.

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post Sunday that crews fighting the Cottonwood Fire south of Brady and Maxwell had a "long night."

"Several large flareups threatened multiple houses. At 5 a.m., it appeared all were still standing thanks to heroic efforts of fire personnel and local residents with tractors and discs," the post said.

Both the Sheriff's Office and Beecham said that despite the high winds, the fact that they had shifted to the north was actually good for the Cottonwood Fire because it forced it back south onto itself, which limited it from spreading further.