By PAUL HAMMEL
Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN — Nearly 30 volunteer fire departments battled erratic winds and a temperature inversion trapping smoke near the ground at a wildfire south of Gering in Nebraska’s Panhandle.
The 3,700-acre Smokey Fire broke out Tuesday afternoon, and its cause had not been determined by Wednesday.
Four single-engine air tankers (SEATs) from Nebraska and Wyoming were working the fire, along with a large air tanker from Colorado. Two Nebraska National Guard UH60 Blackhawk helicopters were also activated, according to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.
“The many air assets fighting this fire along with those firefighters on the ground are working tirelessly to get this fire under control,” said Tim Grubbs, fire chief for the Banner County Volunteer Fire Department.
Firefighters are working to establish fire containment lines around the fire’s perimeter but did not yet have a percentage of containment as of Wednesday.
The fire has temporarily closed Williams Gap Wildlife Management Area in Banner County. Several hundred of the 1,800 acres had burned as of Wednesday.
Drought conditions and high winds have served to provide prime conditions for wildfires across Nebraska this year.
This week’s wildfire is the second to impact the Williams Gap area. In 2020, the Hubbard’s Gap Fire burned about 4,000 acres in the vicinity, including about 60% of the wildlife area, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.