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Questions & Help Mar 16, 2026 at 12:54 PM

Nebraska Wildfires Kill One, Burn 700,000 Acres

Posted by xA1RGU1TAR1STx

https://dailydispatch.com/fire-news/wildland/nebraska-wildfires-kill-one-burn-700000-acres/
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Real-Ad-1728 Mar 16, 2026 +115
To put into perspective how large this fire is, 700k acres is approximately 1.5% of Nebraska.
115
naaahhman Mar 16, 2026 +27
Damn near 1 full Rhode Island.
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Osiris32 Mar 16, 2026 +20
And to put it in context, at the moment it's roughly the 30th largest fire in recorded history of North America. Somewhere between the 2012 Long Draw/Miller Homestead fire in SE Oregon and the 1988 Yellowstone Fires. And no where near what Canada dealt with 3 years ago, with a series of fires across all 13 Proviences and Territories totalling over 45 *million* acres. Fires are getting worse. They are getting bigger and happening more often. This is what climate change does, it doesn't mean hurr durr snowball in Congress, it means significant fractions of entire states are burning up.
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CuteWolves Mar 17, 2026 +2
Maybe they’ll start believing in science and climate change now
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Maxpowr9 Mar 17, 2026 +5
They died denying Covid was real. They will go Book of Job and be happy idiots.
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Far_Radish7752 Mar 16, 2026 +25
From the article in Daily Dispatch: >Major wildfires in central and western Nebraska have claimed one life and burned 700,000 acres. >Governor Jim Pillen has issued an emergency declaration and the Specialized Rocky Complex Incident Teams have taken command of some of the fires. >Fire Departments from Omaha, Lincoln and communities across the state are sending personnel and equipment to assist volunteer firefighters. >The Morrill Fire, almost 75 miles long, connects several other fires stretching from Lake McConaughy by Ogallala to the Scottsbluff area. A woman was killed trying to escape. So far, the fire has burned nearly 550,000 acres. >The Cottonwood Fire has burned 100,000 acres, while the Road 203 Fire has destroyed nearly 36,000 acres. The Anderson Bridge Fire has consumed 16,000 acres. >Strong winds, drought conditions and dry fuels continue to challenge containment efforts.
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Osiris32 Mar 16, 2026 +8
And it's too early in the season for the feds to have hired their yearly ~~pittance laborers~~ seasonal temp forestry technicians (because the IAFF doesn't want them called firefighters because reasons).
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pensivebunny Mar 17, 2026 +5
But surely we have ~~indentured servants~~ *volunteer* prisoners who committed low-risk crimes we are willing to ~~sacrifice~~ let volunteer on the front lines for $5/day
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Osiris32 Mar 17, 2026 +2
To be fair, con crews are one of the few ways prisoners can come out of the system and end up with a legitimate career. Yes, California doesn't allow felons to do that, but other states are more forward thinking, as is the DOI and DOA. During my time as a fed I worked with several guys with records who came up from con crews. And they are a small fraction of the total crews out there.
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Apprehensive-Ad9523 Mar 17, 2026 +2
Nebraska votes R. I use to live there. So where is the Federal  help? 
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Zwierzycki Mar 16, 2026 +98
Terrible. Their governor should resign immediately.
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MadDaddyDrivesaUFO Mar 16, 2026 +53
He's being audited for giving his mistress a million dollars at least
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Marshmallow_ Mar 16, 2026 +23
I live here. He’s a f****** idiot
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xA1RGU1TAR1STx Mar 16, 2026 +16
I agree!
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Jim-be Mar 16, 2026 +11
I just looked and I could not find this in the national news. I know the news folks have cutback on everything, but not one little link to a local news outlet?
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overfiend1976 Mar 16, 2026 +7
https://abcnews.com/US/biggest-wildfire-nebraska-history-continues-burn-control/story?id=131086196
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invalidpassword Mar 16, 2026 +45
Trump shouldn't have to use federal funds to help with wildfires. A true leader would have separate groups he will consider for aid, based on how they they voted.
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AdPsychological8883 Mar 16, 2026 +13
Surely he can send them some rakes?
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PdtNEA1889 Mar 17, 2026 +1
Western Nebraska, where this is happening, is solidly red. And the state as a whole is pretty red. So, they should be on the "receives help" side of the list.
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Interesting-Risk6446 Mar 16, 2026 +76
Not in deep red Nebraska. Don't they rake their leaves?
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xA1RGU1TAR1STx Mar 16, 2026 +44
We’d have to have trees first. Our clown governor is begging for aid money now.
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MadAstrid Mar 16, 2026 +28
Bootstraps en route
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saurus-REXicon Mar 16, 2026 +13
Don’t forget the “hopes & prayers” brigade.
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AudibleNod Mar 16, 2026 +16
73% of Scott's Bluff Cty voted for Trump last election. They should be setting up recruiting stations not providing FEMA trailer/s.
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xA1RGU1TAR1STx Mar 16, 2026 +14
Okay well the fire is primarily in Garden County. Which voted 85% Trump.
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Flimsy-Sprinkles7331 Mar 16, 2026 -3
"Scott's Bluff City"??? Lol... Ok. A tiny lesson: The monument looming over the small city is call Scott's Bluff. The county is Scotts Bluff, without the apostrophe. And the city, is Scottsbluff, all one word.  And yes, all of it is a very rural, very conservative area...kinda like the majority of the state (in population spread over the landmass). But as someone who actually lived there once upon a time, they are kind, albeit perhaps politically misguided, people.  Let us "liberals" not forget our humanity in times of crisis. Let us rise to the occasion and give the opposition something to consider, or reconsider, instead of reaffirming their beliefs. 
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jsickayo Mar 16, 2026 +8
Cty is the abbreviation for county...
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Flimsy-Sprinkles7331 Mar 16, 2026 -1
My mistake
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AENocturne Mar 16, 2026 +6
Look at this f****** neolib thinking they speak for everyone.
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Flimsy-Sprinkles7331 Mar 16, 2026 -2
Nope. Just trying to inject a little kindness, empathy, and humanity back into the narrative. But I can see that is lost on you. ;)
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Throne-Eins Mar 16, 2026 +3
I'm as liberal and anti-Trump as they come, but the number of people who think a place should burn simply because they're a conservative area is very concerning.
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Flimsy-Sprinkles7331 Mar 16, 2026 +2
Yeah, i get the hate. Maga has come down with both feet on the necks of everyone not them. I dont have any answers about how to end the hate epidemic that is spreading faster than Nebraska's wildfire, except that not only do we need to hold the leaders accountable, but to also judge with wisdom, fairness, and compassion (when possible). 
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MadDaddyDrivesaUFO Mar 16, 2026 +8
Maybe he should have his mistress give back the taxpayer money he awarded her fake company
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yamirzmmdx Mar 16, 2026 +14
The right wing media hasn't criticize their firefighting effort which is already in 3rd place for largest California wildfires.
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bornlasttuesday Mar 16, 2026 +8
They would lose their disability payments if they were caught working.
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Revoldt Mar 17, 2026 +3
Nah, god must be pissed at them for something…
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birdman1121 Mar 16, 2026 +47
Did Nebraska not manage their land and water well enough? I don’t really want my tax dollars from my blue state to go to Nebraska, because I know very well that they won’t come back to my state when a disaster happens. At this point, there needs to be federal tax reform because blue states are not getting their monies worth. I think federal taxes should be based on a 5 year cycle. Over five years it is determined if a state gave more or less in federal taxes than it received in federal funds. If they received less, then the tax rate is lowered for 5 years, and if they received more, it’s raised. Not by a huge amount, but enough to incentivize these red welfare states to manage themselves better than just continuing to depend on high income blue states.
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xA1RGU1TAR1STx Mar 16, 2026 +26
Pillen is a farmer, he loves to ask for federal aid. It’s in his blood.
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Vash265 Mar 16, 2026 -7
If you want higher food prices I guess that’s a good way to do it? I’m not saying things are perfect, but of the flyover states are flyover because they’re agriculture based. Their primary export is food. Granted, way way too much of that is food for cars in the form of ethanol. It’s not a perfect system but your proposal would incentivize these states to charge way more for exporting their food to other states to prevent requiring subsidies.
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DRpatato Mar 16, 2026 +6
That sucks dude. Dry ass winter here in Colorado too. Gonna be a tough summer.  
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June_Fatality Mar 16, 2026 +20
One of y'all must have displayed kindness or empathy. You know your god hates that shit.
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Dr_Porknbeef Mar 16, 2026 +2
I bet someone said a kind word about gay people and uncorked God's wrath.
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sarhoshamiral Mar 16, 2026 +3
Is March wildfires usual for Nebraska?
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G0B1GR3D Mar 16, 2026 +17
Usual doesn’t really exist here. It was 8° this morning and Saturday’s high is 87°.
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MadDaddyDrivesaUFO Mar 16, 2026 +7
Not really, it's prescribed burn season but the weather in late winter/early spring is a wildcard so conditions change rapidly. I think this fire was because of burns that were completed when conditions were favorable but a few days later high winds kicked in and reignited some of them. Iirc last year we had this problem, too, but it wasn't as big. Probably would have helped if NOAA didn't get doge'd.
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2rascallydogs Mar 16, 2026 +1
75 mph winds are pretty unusual for NE this time of year. That's nothing compared to what they were getting in Wyoming, but still strong enough to knock over power lines and start fires. That's why power companies in CO and CA shut off power to their customers in winds like this.
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Word_Iz_Bond Mar 16, 2026 +6
This might rank as one of the most insane weather events in recorded history.
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MadDaddyDrivesaUFO Mar 16, 2026 +10
I don't think it's even in the top 5 in Nebraska, much less the USA. Night Of The Twisters in Grand Island in 1980, the bomb cyclone that flooded like 75% of the state in 2019, the Missouri River flooding in 2011, the blizzard of 1888 (ish) that killed a bunch of people...we know how to have weird weather
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Word_Iz_Bond Mar 16, 2026 +4
Ya know, on further research I was definitely exaggerating. There have been bigger fires in weirder places at weird times of the year. But 700,000 acres burning in winter in Nebraska is still wild af.
4
HoldingForGenova Mar 16, 2026 +9
How much aid did Nebraska send to California last year?
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lurkadurking Mar 16, 2026 +2
Through EMAC? I think 6 or 7 people in January, we've got a pretty small pop to pull from though
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richestercanada Mar 16, 2026 +7
What about the Epstein Files?
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thefoodiedentist Mar 16, 2026 +4
Killed more than 1
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TheBraindonkey Mar 16, 2026 +4
Why don’t they just open the valves? Governor should have raked the leaves. Or something like that.
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TheStockFatherDC Mar 17, 2026 +1
At least it burned while it’s cold outside.
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cn0MMnb Mar 16, 2026 -5
How do you kill an acre 
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effortfulcrumload Mar 16, 2026 -4
"Acres" doing a lot of work in that title
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