Three major wildfires, including Nebraska’s largest in history, have burned over 600,000 acres in the state, prompting the deployment of about 30 National Guard members, officials said. The Morrill Fire and three other major fires across central and western Nebraska remained completely uncontained as of Saturday, officials reported. The largest wildfire, the Morrill Fire, burned 460,000 acres and resulted in one fatality, Nebraska’s Governor Jim Pillen said, urging residents to follow locally issued evacuation orders. By Saturday, another blaze, the Cottonwood fire, had burned over 100,000 acres, according to the governor's office, the Nebraska National Guard, and the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. The Road 203 Fire, the third active fire burning in Blaine and Thomas counties near Halsey, has consumed over 40,000 acres, according to state officials. Pillen declared a state of emergency on Friday, mobilizing aircraft to respond to fires sparked on Thursday by high winds, low humidity, and dry conditions. According to the emergency proclamation, the fires had exceeded the capacity of local fire responders. An incident management team from the federal National Interagency Fire Center stated that severe winter weather in the Midwest has hampered firefighting efforts. As of Sunday, officials reported that none of the fires were contained. Pillen stated he would request assistance from nearby states, including Iowa.
