Nebraska Panhandle fire grows as federal task force arrives

The South Fork Fire in the northwest corner of Nebraska has grown, and a federal task force has been called in to help fight it.

The fire, which started Tuesday, grew to more than 23,000 acres overnight Wednesday and into Thursday and was threatening the city of Crawford, part of which was under an evacuation order.

The fire started in eastern Sioux County, but by Thursday had extended into a portion of Dawes County.

Members of Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 2 were called in to manage firefighting efforts, which included 145 personnel.

Mike Reed, operations section chief with the Rocky Mountain team, said in a video update that the fire was about 5% contained on the west end, and the team would be focusing efforts on the east end of the fire, close to Crawford, “so that we don’t see any additional growth.”

On Wednesday, officials ordered an evacuation of Fort Robinson State Park, as well as a nursing home in Crawford. The evacuation orders covered more than 20 buildings and nearly 100 people.

In a post on social media, Gov. Jim Pillen said he and his staff continue to monitor the situation.

“In western Nebraska, windy conditions are making containment difficult, but the National Guard helicopter and ground units I ordered to support local firefighters are helping,” the post said.

The area, which is under extreme drought conditions, continued to be in a red flag warning on Thursday because of high winds and low humidity.

The National Weather Service said winds in the area were gusting over 40 miles per hour on Thursday and humidity was in the 10%-20% range. On Friday, winds are forecast to moderate somewhat, but humidity could be in the single digits.