As historic wildfires in Nebraska continued to roar amid a Western heat wave, Gov. Jim Pillen and incident commanders expressed hope Tuesday that they may soon turn a corner.
The state's four major blazes, which were blamed for at least one death and have burned nearly 800,000 acres, were described by Pillen on Sunday as "the largest wildfires in our history."
“Generals are always pressing their staff for the turning point in the campaign,” he said Tuesday. “I can’t give you a definite answer on the turning point, but that day will come.”
As the week started, the firefight in western Nebraska was aided by a lull in wind gusts that over the weekend had created firestorms and reached 61 mph Saturday, according to National Weather Service data.
The short reprieve Monday allowed Pillen, command staffers and firefighters to embrace optimism, but the forecast is quickly bringing back dire fire weather.
Red flag warnings — meaning increased fire risk — for much of the region are forecast to return 10 a.m. Wednesday and cover four days, according to the weather service. Gusts of 35 mph are possible, high temperatures will be in the 80s, and humidity is likely to stand at less than 15%, it said.
The fires have been burning since last week amid low humidity and strong winds, with most having started Thursday.
Pillen said Saturday that Rose White, 86, of Arthur, died trying to escape the Morrill Fire. She grew up on a Nebraska ranch and later raised her own family there, according to her obituary.
The deadly fire is also the largest of the state's four major blazes. An incident command team that includes federal and state firefighters said the Morrill Fire had burned 572,084 acres and was 18% contained early Tuesday evening. Erv Portis, assistant director of the state's emergency management agency, said at a news conference Tuesday that the fire had consumed 600,000 acres.
Pillen on Tuesday called the blaze on its own "the largest wildfire in our state’s history." On Friday, he said high winds fanned an electrical fire that stood at the origin of the Morrill Fire, though the incident command team said a cause is still officially undetermined.
An estimated 300 residents in the area of the fire were under evacuation orders but were allowed to return to their homes, according to the Morrill Fire incident command team.
The same incident command team is fighting the Cottonwood Fire, said to have consumed 131,259 acres with 40% containment.
The Road 203 Fire in Nebraska National Forest had spread across 35,386 acres by Tuesday, but firefighters had it 36% contained, according to its incident command team. The cause is believed to be a prescribed burn on March 10 that re-emerged as the Road 203 fire on March 12, according to the team.
The Anderson Bridge Fire, which erupted March 12 in Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest, has burned 17,400 acres amid 60% containment Tuesday, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association. The national forest is closed through April 13 to ensure public safety and allow fire crews to pass unabated, the U.S. Forest Service said. A cause was unavailable.
The fires thrive on the western side of the state, with Nebraska National Guard personnel, Iowa National Guard personnel — including two of its Black Hawk helicopters — federal commanders, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials and more than 700 firefighters assigned, according to state officials and the incident command team.
Pillen declared a state of emergency for fire-affected counties last week. On Tuesday, he signed an executive order that aims to cut red tape in providing feed and other needed supplies to the state's livestock as flames consume its grazing land.
"This event will take several days to bring it to where we can control it and be comfortable handing it off to locals," he said Tuesday.
