By ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAMBRIDGE, Neb. (AP) — A deadly southwestern Nebraska wildfire that has been burning since last week is near to being fully contained, officials said Friday.
Crews have 97% of the Road 702 Fire contained behind fire breaks, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency said Friday. That has led to fewer firefighters on the scene as management of the fire has reverted to Nebraska officials from a federal regional oversight team.
More than 220 firefighters and other personnel had been working in recent days to dig trenches and create other breaks to contain the fire, which burned an estimated 69 square miles of mostly grass and farm land.
While officials marked crews’ success in containing the flames, they also noted that severe storms were expected to bring back to the region strong winds of up to 65 mph Friday night into Saturday.
“The potential for gusty outflow winds from evening thunderstorms could result in very high rates of fire spread,” the agency said in its statement Friday.
Last week, a retired volunteer fire chief helping with the effort died when his truck went off the road in a blinding haze of smoke and dust. The fire has also destroyed several homes and injured several firefighters.