Pressey Fire burning 9,000 acres near Broken Bow with no containment

A wildfire that broke out Wednesday during hot and windy weather has burned around 9,000 acres with no signs of containment, according to Custer County Emergency Manager Mark Rempe.

The Nebraska Forest Service said Thursday that the Pressey Fire is burning near Oconto, Nebraska, in Custer County. According to the Watch Duty map, the fire appears to be south of Broken Bow.

"Crews are working day and night with more resources on the way, including two Nebraska Air National Guard Black Hawk helicopters making bucket drops and a National Guard handcrew en route," the Nebraska Forest Service posted on social media Thursday afternoon.

The agency said the fire has destroyed one home and several outbuildings. The cause is still under investigation.

"We are ordering the necessary resources to assist on the fire and support our local responders," Rempe said in a news release Thursday evening. "Our priority remains protecting lives, property and critical infrastructure as crews continue suppression operations."

Nearly a dozen wildfires broke out Wednesday as intense drought conditions continue throughout Nebraska. About a million acres across western and central Nebraska have burned so far this year, smashing previous wildfire records. It was about one month ago that crews finally contained the deadly Morrill Fire, the largest wildfire in state history, and the 129,000-acre Cottonwood Fire that ignited around the same time in central Nebraska.

Gov. Jim Pillen issued a proclamation earlier this week to put the on active-duty status to be ready if large wildfires ignited during another warm and windy week.

New analysis from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln shows the state could be on the doorstep to one of the worst droughts in Nebraska's history. With record-low snowpack in the Rockies and the driest and warmest winter Nebraska's ever seen, drought conditions are expected to continue, and possibly worsen, as the summer approaches.

Pillen withdrew a statewide burn ban that he issued in March to limit the possibility of controlled burns getting out of control, but many fire departments in Nebraska are choosing not to issue any burn permits.