‘The days ahead are really, really high risk’: Nebraska state officials hold briefing about wildfires

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A briefing was held at the Joint Services Headquarters in Lincoln on Monday so that various agencies could provide updates on the four wildfires blazing across Central and Western Nebraska.

The Morrill County fire is the largest fire on record in Nebraska to date, burning over 500,000 acres.

The other wildfires are the Anderson Bridge fire in Cherry County and the Road 203 fire in Blaine and Thomas Counties.

At the time of the meeting, the Morrill and Cottonwood fires were both at 0% containment; together, they are nearly equivalent to the entire state of Rhode Island.

After several hours, the Morrill fire reached 18 percent containment, and the Cottonwood fire reached nearly 40 percent containment.

Gov. Pillen thanked the various agencies responsible, but stated there is still a lot of work to be done.

“Obviously, the days ahead are really, really high risk,” he said.

Updates on resources indicating over 15o firemen personnel, 39 Nebraska National Guardsmen, and 8 Iowa National Guardsmen. In addition to human resources, a total of four Black Hawk Helicopters are also at work.

Two helicopters were deployed from Iowa.

Gov. Pillen spoke about the importance of utilizing relationships at every level: local, state, and federal.

He spoke of conversations he had with Governor Reynolds of Iowa, as well as with Mayor Baird of Lincoln, Mayor Bulkley of Columbus, and John Ewing, Mayor of Omaha.

“I called who I had on my phone,” said Gov. Pillen.

“We’re working very, very hard on more resources, more capital. I had an engagement with Secretary Rollins late yesterday. She’s offering whatever we need. I said we need the ability to mobilize land for whatever ranchers are going to need,” he said.

Speakers from over a dozen agencies gave updates.

The Nebraska Department of Transportation states there are no road or highway closures at this time, and the Department of Public Health indicates it is preparing behavioral resources for first responders.

The speaker for Ag and Natural Resources discussed the resources they will have available on their website for ranchers and farmers.

Also mentioning the conversations with Veterinary clinics about concerns for the 35,000 cattle in the area affected by the wildfires.

Erv Portis from the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency spoke about the federal aid secured from FEMA for a Fire Management Assistance Grant, or FMAG.

Portis says this grant can be difficult to obtain due to the criteria, but after submitting a formal request, it was approved by the FEMA regional administrator.

When asked about how the funds would be spent most immediately, he had this to say.

“We’ve got a whole lot of people on the ground and the logistics necessary to support those people with food, lodging, shelter, respite care, and other resources. That’s the immediate need,” said Portis.

The briefing held on Monday will be a daily occurrence to ensure all agencies involved in fire attack will stay informed.