Cottonwood Fire
The Cottonwood Fire was reported on March 15, 2026 in Lincoln County, Nebraska and burned 129,253 acres. It is 100 percent contained.
- Size
- 129,253 acres
- Contained
- 100%
- Discovered
- March 15, 2026
- Personnel
- 154
Map
Perimeter mapped March 21, 2026 at 7:30 AM CDT, 129,253 acres (mixed methods). Point of origin 40.872, -100.433.
The incident
- Size
- 129,253 acres
- Containment
- 100%
- Discovered
- March 15, 2026 at 12:35 AM CDT
- Cause
- Undetermined
- Location
- 5 Miles SW from Brady, NE
- County
- Lincoln County
- State
- Nebraska
- Protecting agency
- SFS
- Land ownership at origin
- Private
- Personnel assigned
- 154
- Incident management
- Type 1 Incident
- Primary fuel
- Timber (Litter and Understory)
- Estimated cost to date
- $9,701,390
- Incident type
- Wildfire
- Unique fire identifier
- 2026-NENES-260161
- IRWIN identifier
- A71C047E-F254-4A04-8854-D5DA35956595
Growth
Mapped area at the last perimeter of each day, from March 15, 2026 (121,232 acres) to March 26, 2026 (129,253 acres). The largest one-day growth was 10,027 acres, mapped March 16, 2026.
| Day | Acres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| March 15, 2026 | 121,232 | |
| March 16, 2026 | 131,259 | +10,027 |
| March 18, 2026 | 128,036 | -3,223 |
| March 20, 2026 | 128,192 | +156 |
| March 21, 2026 | 128,289 | +97 |
| March 22, 2026 | 128,286 | -3 |
| March 23, 2026 | 129,103 | +817 |
| March 26, 2026 | 129,253 | +150 |
Weather in the area
This fire is no longer listed as current. The forecast for Gothenburg, NE covers the area today.
Nearby
Nebraska wildfires today Wildfires of 2026 All current fires
Incident record from the National Interagency Fire Center’s Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS), as the incident’s managers report it; last updated March 27, 2026 at 6:54 PM CDT. Identifier 2026-NENES-260161.