Pillen issues proclamation to ensure Nebraska National Guard available to fight wildfires

Gov. Jim Pillen on Monday issued a proclamation placing certain National Guard assets on active status to ensure they are ready and available to respond to wildfires.

The proclamation covers aviation assets, as well as support personnel and equipment.

“Protecting the citizens of Nebraska is my number one priority,” Pillen in a news release. “We are ensuring that resources are ready to combat fires and safeguard lives and property. I have full confidence in Adjutant General Strong to lead our state’s disaster response with efficiency and effectiveness.”

Pillen mobilized the Nebraska National Guard in mid-March to assist with the wildfires in central and western Nebraska. Airmen and ground crews worked in coordination with the Iowa National Guard, local firefighters and volunteers from other states over several weeks to bring those fires under control.

Even though Pillen lifted a statewide burn ban earlier this month, he pointed out in the news release that high winds, low humidity and dry conditions continue to be a concern.

While overall drought conditions improved slightly in Nebraska last week, they worsened in western Nebraska. As of Thursday, nearly 82% of the state remains in severe drought or worse, including nearly 44% in extreme drought.

Pillen’s move comes after he asked for a 30-day extension in applying for a federal disaster declaration related to the March wildfires in central and western Nebraska.

Pillen said in a Friday news release that he is specifically asking for additional time to submit information about damage done to public infrastructure by the Morrill and Cottonwood fires, which combined burned nearly 775,000 acres and killed one person.

The governor said while he’s confident the threshold for requesting a federal disaster declaration has been exceeded, efforts to assess the full extent of the damage have been hampered by additional wildfires in those areas.

If the 30-day extension is granted, it would give Nebraska officials until May 27 to submit their disaster application.

Pillen said his team has been in regular touch with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as well as members of the Trump administration, “which have been incredibly responsive and helpful in the aftermath of the state’s major wildfires,” he said in the release.

First District Congressman Mike Flood said Sunday during a Zoom meeting with reporters that Nebraska’s Congressional delegation has been working together to help ensure the state gets the aid it needs.

“Senator (Deb) Fisher was able to pass a bill through the Senate that essentially expedites the funding from FEMA for Nebraska,” Flood said. “We are going to take that bill up in the House, and we anticipate the President signing it. So we've been leading legislatively to speed up and expedite the process to get those resources.”

Flood said that while he hasn’t personally spoken with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, his office has and he knows other members of the delegation have spoken to her, “so I feel like there's been good cooperation”