Local Firefighters Sent To Battle Massive Wildfires In Central Nebraska
By Gordon Hopkins
For local firefighters, the numerous wildfires that broke out throughout southeastern Nebraska Thursday afternoon, March 12, were only the beginning.
Thursday
Fueled by extremely strong winds and dry conditions, numerous wildfires broke out throughout Nebraska, sending area firefighters scrambling. In the southeastern Nebraska area, fire departments were dispatched to Jefferson, Gage, Seward, Fillmore, Saline and Lancaster counties.
This came one day after the U.S. National Weather Service and the Nebraska Forest Service warned of wildfire conditions returning to the area. The entire area was under a Red Flag warning.
Fires spread rapidly with wind gusts of up to 74 miles reported in some areas.
According to Gage County Emergency Manager Lisa Wiegand, Gage County alone had as many as six separate fires burning at one point. One of those fires resulted in the closure of Highway 77 for both northbound and southbound traffic between Hickory and Elm.
In Jefferson County, multiple fire departments responded to a blaze near 563 Road and 713 Road in Gladstone, west of Fairbury.
Evacuations were ordered for some residents in southwest Lancaster County.
Mop up operations continued into the following day.
Friday
While fires in southeast Nebraska were largely contained, the conflagration in counties further west continued to rage.
By Friday, March 13, thousands of acres of land were burned across multiple counties, resulting in evacuations in nearby communities. Roadways have also been closed due to low visibility from heavy smoke.
That day, Governor Jim Pillen issued an emergency proclamation activating the deployment of state resources to help combat fires, including the use of aircraft and personnel from the Nebraska National Guard.
The governor also issued a statewide burn ban to help reduce the potential for additional wildfires in Nebraska. The Governor’s executive order prohibiting burning will remain in effect until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 27.
“These fires present a significant and active danger, given current weather conditions,” said Governor Pillen. “Anyone living within proximity to current wildfires are urged to heed communications issued by local authorities, including their respective county emergency management agencies.”
The 3 and 33 Mutual Aid Association was requested to send a task force of five Type 6 Wildland fire engines out to the Cottonwood fire south of Brady/Maxwell area. Trucks from Fairbury Rural Fire, Diller Fire & Rescue, Barneston Rural Volunteer Fire Department, Blue Springs Fire, Wymore Fire and Rescue and Beatrice Rural Fire along with one firefighter from both Odell Fire and Daykin Volunteer Fire, left Friday afternoon to report to Brady Fire Station.
Fairbury Rural Fire Chief was the task force leader. The task force spent Friday evening on west side.
Saturday
A high wind warning was issued Saturday morning, March 14.
The 3 and 33 Task force spent the following day on the west side again doing burnout and patrolling fire lines.
By Saturday, the Nebraska National Guard had deployed 29 airmen and soldiers to assist with firefighting efforts in central and western Nebraska. That includes a ground firefighting hand crew, which is working shoulder to shoulder with local fire teams. Two Nebraska Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters equipped with Bambi buckets were also been flown to the area for aerial firefighting support.
“We are working to get more resources into the state, but as we heard, there are multiple fires across multiple states,” said Lt. Col. Scott Henrickson, chief of the joint staff for the Nebraska National Guard. “We are still working to see what is available and of course, bring that up in a unified effort here with the local emergency management team as well as our Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).”
NEMA has requested and received approval from FEMA for a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG), which is designed to help support efforts to mitigate, manage, and control fires on public or private forests or grasslands. That assistance may help recover some of the costs associated with the state’s ongoing fire response.
Governor Pillen confirmed during a press conference that one person had died trying to escape the fires, a grandmother named Rose White.
The 3 and 33 Task force returned home but Chief Stewart advised FJN he anticipated being called back.
Fairbury firefighter Ken Krause told FJN, “This deployment made me proud to be a volunteer firefighter to work with so many people that just want to make a bad situation better.”
Sunday
Temperatures were considerably lower on Sunday, March 15, but extremely high winds continued to hamper efforts to contain the fires.
Sunday morning, the City of Omaha deployed specialized personnel and equipment to Western Nebraska to assist in fire containment. Emphasizing the seriousness of the situation, Omaha Fire Chief Kathy Bossman pointed out it has been decades since OFD had sent resources outside the local area.
“The Omaha Fire Department is proud to deploy personnel and resources to Keith County, NE to assist with the Cottonwood and Morrill wildfires,” said Bossman. “I am extremely proud of the professionalism our firefighters demonstrate as they support fellow responders and communities across Nebraska during these challenging conditions.”
In addition, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds directed the Iowa National Guard to send helicopters with crews trained for firefighting operations to assist in firefighting operations in Nebraska.
The Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1 (CIMT1) assumed management of the Morrill and Cottonwood Fires Sunday evening. CIMT1 is comprised of local, state and federal personnel from Nebraska, Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Monday
As of Monday, March 16, 2026, four active wildfires continue to burn out of control: Morrill Fire (Keith, Arthur, Grant, Garden and Morrill counties), Cottonwood Fire (Dawson, Lincoln and Frontier counties, south of Interstate 80, near Brady and Gothenburg), Road 203 Fire (Thomas, Custer, Logan and Blaine counties, south of the communities of Halsey and Dunning within the Nebraska National Forest) and the Anderson Bridge Fire (Cherry County, west of Valentine).
More than 720,000 acres have been burned and, as of press time, the fires continue.
