Hundreds of acres blackened
MCCOOK, Neb. (AP) — Firefighters have been detailed to handle hot spots left by a wildfire that destroyed a house and blackened hundreds of acres as it threatened McCook in southwest Nebraska.
At least one person who camps out near the Red Willow County community of 7,500 people was burned Tuesday afternoon as 50 mph wind gusts whipped flames down a canyon toward the city. His name hasn’t been released.
Students and staff at an elementary school were evacuated to a high school several blocks south.
Chief Bill Elliott of the Red Willow Western Rural Fire Department said Wednesday that wind knocked a power line into a shed about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from town, and sparks from the resulting short ignited dry brush below. He estimated that 210 acres (85 hectares) were charred.
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