Fire Blackens Thousands of Acres in Nebraska

Crop-duster used to drop water

 

 

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — Crews and vehicles from 14 departments and a crop-dusting plane kept a brush fire from destroying any structures or injuring anyone in western Nebraska’s Lincoln County, authorities said.

The wind-blown flames blackened more than 3.1 square miles (802.9 hectares) north of North Platte in a few hours Sunday. The first report was called in around 3:20 p.m., and officials said the blaze was contained by 6 p.m. Some firefighters remained to handle hot spots but left early Monday morning when rain began to fall.

The crop-duster dropped water to slow the flames’ advance across the dry fields.

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“It’s (been) incredibly dry out there, and the grass from last year is still really tall,” North Platte Battalion Chief Jeff Hankla told The North Platte Telegraph. “There was a ton of fuel.”

Investigators found fire’s flashpoint in an open field south of a rural subdivision that which sits east of the U.S. Highway 83-Nebraska Highway 97 junction. But the fire cause has yet to be determined, Hankla said.

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Crop-duster used to drop water     NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — Crews and vehicles from 14 departments and a crop-dusting plane kept a brush fire from destroying any structures or injuring anyone in western Nebraska’s Lincoln County, authorities said. The wind-blown flames blackened more than 3.1 square miles (802.9 hectares) north of North Platte […]

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