A mower sparked a Nebraska wildfire that has burned an area roughly the size of Omaha, officials say
OMAHA, Neb.– A mower sparked a prairie fire that has burned a huge swath of grassland in central Nebraska, about the size of the state’s largest city, Omaha, state officials said Tuesday.
The fire, first reported Monday morning less than 10 miles (16.1 kilometers) northeast of North Platte, destroyed one home, damaged another and burned down about five outbuildings, but no injuries were reported, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency reported .
The fire came as the National Weather Service issued red flag warnings and fire danger warnings for Nebraska and several other states across the center of the country, combining high winds of more than 40 miles per hour with unseasonably warm temperatures, low humidity and drought. winter vegetation to make conditions ripe for wildfires.
By midday Tuesday, the Betty’s Way fire β fueled by winds of more than 40 mph β had burned about 175 square miles in Lincoln and Custer counties, Lincoln County Emergency Management Director Brandon Myers said. About fifteen volunteer fire departments in the area initially fought in vain to prevent the fire from spreading.
Late Monday, Gov. Jim Pillen declared a state disaster, prompting additional assistance from the state Forest Service, fire marshal, emergency management agency and other cooperating agencies.
Officials went house to house to evacuate those in the path of the eastward-moving fire, Myers said.
βIt’s not a densely populated area,β he says. “I’d say we evacuated maybe 10 to 20 homes.”
Officials had the fire about half contained by Tuesday afternoon and hoped to have it completely extinguished by Thursday, Myers said. That effort will be helped by falling temperatures and a possibility of snow overnight Tuesday through Friday, he said.
The US is experiencing major temperature swings this week. Some cities β including many in Nebraska β are experiencing whiplash, going from record highs to freezing temperatures and snow.