Progress Made on Nebraska Wildfires, But High Winds Threaten Efforts

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Fire crews took advantage of a break in the weather in their battle to contain large fires in the West and Plains states, but fear the return of stronger winds Tuesday could spread the flames further.

A southwestern Nebraska wildfire that killed a former volunteer fire chief last week, injured 15 firefighters and destroyed several homes was about half contained, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency said. But firefighters there were in a race with Mother Nature to hold that line and finish a containment border, said Jonathan Ashford, spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team.

The fire, dubbed the Road 702 Fire, has burned about 70 square miles (181 square kilometers) of mostly grasslands and farmland near the Nebraska-Kansas state line and was estimated to be about 47% contained.

After a break in the weather Monday, the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning Tuesday for the area of mostly prairie and farmland, with temperatures expected to be warmer, humidity dropping to as low at 15% and winds gusting up to 35 mph (56 kph).

“Today will definitely be a bit of a test,” Ashford said.

Meanwhile in the West, crews continued working to corral blazes in northern New Mexico that have charred a combined 225 square miles (583 square kilometers) over recent days. Evacuations remain in place and several small villages were threatened. While an unknown number of homes have been destroyed, conditions have kept authorities from accessing many areas to survey the damage.

The largest of the wildfires has blacked more than 94 square miles (243 square kilometers) in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Crews there were bracing for the weather to take a turn this week with more hot, dry and windy conditions forecast for the area.

Four new fires were reported Monday, two in Colorado and one in Oklahoma and Virginia, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Nationally, 11 large fires have burned about 342 square miles (886 square kilometers) in six states, the agency reported Tuesday. More than 3,500 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to those fires.