Nebraska wildfires are partially contained as weather warnings continue

Firefighters are making progress battling wildfires in the state, with at least partial containment now reported on all four fires.

The fires: the Morrill Fire in western Nebraska’s Morrill, Garden, Arthur and Keith counties; the Road 203 Fire in Thomas and Blaine counties; the Cottonwood Fire in Lincoln County; and the Anderson Bridge Fire in Cherry County, have burned more than 700,000 total acres and are the largest in the state’s history.

Information from Watch Duty Tuesday morning said the Morrill Fire was 18% contained, the Cottonwood Fire is 40% contained and the Road 203 Fire was 36% contained.

An update from Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1 said Firefighters were able to make significant gains in containment on the Cottonwood and Morrill fires Monday thanks to a break in the wind. Strong winds Tuesday were expected to keep aircraft grounded.

Tyler Nathe, Operations Section Chief with Rocky Mountain Team 3, provided an update Tuesday morning on the Road 203 Fire, which has burned nearly 36,000 acres near Halsey.

He said crews took steps toward containment Monday by using unmanned aerial drones to home in on hot spots.

“We do have a red flag warning, so crews are going to work on being really diligent with their actions and really targeting those heat sources as they work throughout the shift,” he said.

He said the fire’s east border, which is near the town of Dunning, was being contained, and firefighters were feeling “really comfortable” about the area.

“Overall on the fire, we’re starting to look really good,” Nathe said. “As we go throughout today’s shift, we’ll be evaluating what resources are going to be needed to set up the next couple of days and potentially look at transitioning to a lower level of incident management team.”

The Anderson Bridge Fire has burned more than 17,000 acres and is listed at 60% contained.

The National Weather service shared a social media post warning the area was in a red flag warning Tuesday until 8 p.m. Central time, with temperatures reaching the mid-70s, wind gusts up to 45 mph possible and relative humidity around 15%. Hazardous conditions were expected to continue into Wednesday, with westerly wind gusts up to 35 mph possible and relative humidity dipping as low as 11%.

On Monday afternoon, Gov. Jim Pillen issued an executive order for assistance with agriculture supplies to help with wildfire recovery efforts.

A press release from the governor’s office said the order waives hours of service restrictions and adjusts the maximum load limits for commercial vehicles assisting with recovery efforts and supporting those impacted.

“Nebraska’s producers are facing a real need right now, and we have the responsibility to stand with our farmers and ranchers,” Pillen said in the release. “The faster we get feed and supplies where they’re needed, the more we can do to support our livestock industry… “lease continue to pray for our firefighters on the frontline, the families whose lives are being upturned, and the producers who are working around the clock to protect their operations and livestock.”

Officials said Monday night that it was still unsafe for people who live in the Jeffrey Lake area to return home due to the Cottonwood Fire, despite posts circulating on social media saying the area was safe.