Due to the horrible dry soil and windy Nebraska weather, fires have been spreading around the Nebraska state for approximately two weeks. The Nebraska fires were discovered on April 23, 2022. The fires are now completely tame and contained as of May 10, 2022. Thirty-three counties were battling flames, with 20 active wildfires. One wildfire that had spread, included, the state of Nebraska.

Several small towns in Nebraska, including Cambridge, Bartley, Indianola, and Wilsonville, in Nebraska’s southwest and Macy in its northeast, were forced to temporarily evacuate because of the wind-driven wildfires. More than 220 firefighters worked extremely hard to put out the wildfires. The fires have burned approximately 69 square miles of land around the southwest states.

Since October of 2021, Nebraska has not been receiving the usual amount of rainfall the state usually gets this time of year. Nebraska has only received half of the amount. To help assist with maintaining the fires that were found around Nebraska, the Nebraska national guard sent out one hand crew, two UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters, one UH-72, and ground support trucks.

The fires have injured 15 total firefighters and one person was killed. The tragic accident included a retired fire chief passing away. Who was later found on that following Saturday. The 66-year-old John P. Trumble’s truck went off of a road filled with haze and smoke due to the poor visibility caused by the Nebraska fires. The flames have destroyed many homes and have created lots of damage state-wide.

The fires have spread around many southwest states and have caused lots of damage to the United States. The spud is glad to say the fires are maintained and the people are now safe.