Wildfire and High Wind in Nebraska, April 7 to 12, 2022

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A peak wind gust of 61 MPH was measured by the Ord Airport ASOS.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A peak wind gust of 63 MPH was measured by the Grand Island Central Nebraska Regional Airport ASOS.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A peak wind gust of 62 MPH was measured by the Hastings Airport ASOS.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A peak wind gust of 65 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located five miles east-southeast of Phillips.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A peak wind gust of 65 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located two miles north-northeast of Kearney.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A peak wind gust of 68 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located one mile north-northeast of Cozad.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A peak wind gust of 60 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located two miles south-southeast of Central City.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A peak wind gust of 60 MPH was measured by mesonet stations located three miles east-northeast of Heartwell and two miles north-northeast of Norman.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A peak wind gust of 60 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located five miles north-northwest of Oxford.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A peak wind gust of 58 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located three miles west of York.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A peak wind gust of 66 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located three miles east-northeast of Guide Rock.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A peak wind gust of 60 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located four miles north-northwest of Bostwick.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A peak wind gust of 66 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located two miles west-northwest of Fairfield.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

A large and historic wildfire tore across parts of Gosper and Furnas counties on this Thursday afternoon-evening, remaining in the regional news headlines for several days while being gradually contained. Fueled by a nasty combination of extreme dryness and severe north-northwest winds frequently gusting 50-60+ MPH, this blaze scorched approximately 35,000 acres along a nearly 22-mile long and mainly 2-4 mile wide swath, making it the largest wildfire in at least many decades within South Central Nebraska. Dubbed the Road 739 Fire, it ignited around 12:30 p.m. CDT seven miles south-southwest of Elwood near the intersection of county Roads 739/420 (where it was determined that a dead tree limb blew onto power lines) and raged south-southeastward over the next several hours to the banks of the Republican River one to two miles west-southwest of Edison, where its forward progress was halted in the early morning hours of Friday the 8th. According to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), eight residences were destroyed along with as many as 50 outbuildings/minor structures (in addition to many killed/injured livestock, damaged irrigation pivots, fences, etc.). Although no injuries were reported from the actual fire, tragically two traffic incidents involving emergency personnel occurred during the immediate fire response, one resulting in a fatality. In this most notable accident, the Elwood volunteer fire chief was killed and the Phelps County emergency manager seriously injured when the SUV they were riding in collided head-on with a truck hauling water approximately eight miles north of Arapahoe along Highway 283 (visibility was near-zero at the time due to a combination of blowing smoke/dust). In a separate accident, a Farnam volunteer firefighter was injured when the fire truck he was riding on dropped into a hole and overturned in a pasture approximately 11 miles southwest of Elwood. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, several area U.S. and state highways were closed for a time due to either active fire or heavy smoke, including highways: 283, 6/34, 46 and 89. Although the forward progress of the fire was halted within roughly the first 12 hours after it started, it took many more days to fully corral hot spots within the fire perimeter, as even nearly two weeks later the fire as a whole was officially only 80 percent contained. As for the overall fire response, in addition to at least 40 local fire departments from across the state, the following state agencies also deployed personnel for a few to several days: NEMA, Nebraska State Patrol, Nebraska State Fire Marshal and Nebraska Forest Service. In addition, the Nebraska National Guard deployed two UH-60 helicopters for aerial fire suppression (dropping buckets of water on hot spots) along with support vehicles and a 25-person Wildland Taskforce crew. According to the Nebraska Region 17 Emergency Management Coordinator, the extreme and aggressive behavior of the Road 739 fire was unlike anything he had ever encountered, noting that at times those battling the fire could not even see the front of their vehicles due to blowing smoke/dust. But as tragic as the Road 739 Fire was, it could have been even worse, as the tireless work of countless firefighters saved dozens of rural homes and also kept the fire from potentially spreading into the communities of Arapahoe and Edison (the fire got within approximately one mile of both, and an evacuation order was briefly in effect for Edison and nearby rural areas). Please note: Although the Road 739 fire was the largest fire of April 2022 to occur entirely within this South Central Nebraska area, the Road 702 fire that flared up 15 days later (April 22) was actually even larger overall, scorching approximately 44,000 acres including parts of western Furnas County in this local area. However, the majority of the Road 702 Fire focused just west of this coverage area (mainly impacting Red Willow County in the Extreme Southwest Nebraska coverage area).

A large and historic wildfire tore across parts of Gosper and Furnas counties on this Thursday afternoon-evening, remaining in the regional news headlines for several days while being gradually contained. Fueled by a nasty combination of extreme dryness and severe north-northwest winds frequently gusting 50-60+ MPH, this blaze scorched approximately 35,000 acres along a nearly 22-mile long and mainly 2-4 mile wide swath, making it the largest wildfire in at least many decades within South Central Nebraska. Dubbed the Road 739 Fire, it ignited around 12:30 p.m. CDT seven miles south-southwest of Elwood near the intersection of county Roads 739/420 (where it was determined that a dead tree limb blew onto power lines) and raged south-southeastward over the next several hours to the banks of the Republican River one to two miles west-southwest of Edison, where its forward progress was halted in the early morning hours of Friday the 8th. According to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), eight residences were destroyed along with as many as 50 outbuildings/minor structures (in addition to many killed/injured livestock, damaged irrigation pivots, fences, etc.). Although no injuries were reported from the actual fire, tragically two traffic incidents involving emergency personnel occurred during the immediate fire response, one resulting in a fatality. In this most notable accident, the Elwood volunteer fire chief was killed and the Phelps County emergency manager seriously injured when the SUV they were riding in collided head-on with a truck hauling water approximately eight miles north of Arapahoe along Highway 283 (visibility was near-zero at the time due to a combination of blowing smoke/dust). In a separate accident, a Farnam volunteer firefighter was injured when the fire truck he was riding on dropped into a hole and overturned in a pasture approximately 11 miles southwest of Elwood. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, several area U.S. and state highways were closed for a time due to either active fire or heavy smoke, including highways: 283, 6/34, 46 and 89. Although the forward progress of the fire was halted within roughly the first 12 hours after it started, it took many more days to fully corral hot spots within the fire perimeter, as even nearly two weeks later the fire as a whole was officially only 80 percent contained. As for the overall fire response, in addition to at least 40 local fire departments from across the state, the following state agencies also deployed personnel for a few to several days: NEMA, Nebraska State Patrol, Nebraska State Fire Marshal and Nebraska Forest Service. In addition, the Nebraska National Guard deployed two UH-60 helicopters for aerial fire suppression (dropping buckets of water on hot spots) along with support vehicles and a 25-person Wildland Taskforce crew. According to the Nebraska Region 17 Emergency Management Coordinator, the extreme and aggressive behavior of the Road 739 fire was unlike anything he had ever encountered, noting that at times those battling the fire could not even see the front of their vehicles due to blowing smoke/dust. But as tragic as the Road 739 Fire was, it could have been even worse, as the tireless work of countless firefighters saved dozens of rural homes and also kept the fire from potentially spreading into the communities of Arapahoe and Edison (the fire got within approximately one mile of both, and an evacuation order was briefly in effect for Edison and nearby rural areas). Please note: Although the Road 739 fire was the largest fire of April 2022 to occur entirely within this South Central Nebraska area, the Road 702 fire that flared up 15 days later (April 22) was actually even larger overall, scorching approximately 44,000 acres including parts of western Furnas County in this local area. However, the majority of the Road 702 Fire focused just west of this coverage area (mainly impacting Red Willow County in the Extreme Southwest Nebraska coverage area).