Wildfire Burns 71,000 Acres in Central Nebraska
A wildfire northeast of North Platte, Neb., burned 110 square miles earlier this week, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency reported.
First reported Monday morning, the Betty’s Way fire was ignited by sparks from a mower and burned a swath of grassland through Lincoln and Custer counties. The fire destroyed one home, damaged another and burned about five outbuildings, but no injuries were reported.
Officials said 10 to 20 homes were evacuated. The area burned was said to be roughly the size of Omaha, the state’s largest city.
Like other states in the Central Plains, Nebraska was under red flag warning and fire danger alerts as high winds over 40 mph combined with unseasonably warm temperatures, low humidity and dry winter vegetation to increase the threat of wildfires.
By late Monday, Gov. Jim Pillen declared a state disaster, which provided additional help from the state Forest Service, Fire Marshal, emergency management agency and other cooperating agencies.
