Nebraska Wildfires prompt state of emergency, fatality confirmed
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen declared a state of Emergency in seven counties following a wildfire outbreak that began on March 12, 2026, and which is ongoing as of press time. The counties included in the Friday emergency declaration include Morrill, Garden, Arthur, Keith, Lincoln, Dawson, and Frontier. As of 4 p.m., March 13, reports indicate the Morrill Fire in the Nebraska panhandle region has burned over 453,000 acres and is 0% contained.
“I have been closely monitoring the fires in western Nebraska and their escalation late yesterday with sustained windy conditions. I am working closely with my emergency management team, @NEMAtweets, @NENationalGuard, @NebraskaDOT, and others to deploy state resources—including National Guard aerial firefighting assets when conditions allow them to fly—to assist and support local firefighters who have been working overtime to protect their communities. Additional details will follow soon, and I urge Nebraskans in affected areas to closely monitor local fire updates and to follow first responder directives,” the Governor posted on X early in the morning Friday, March 13.
A former Broadwater, Nebraska source with family in the path of the fire said, “It’s just scary. It was straight west winds of 70 miles per hour. Around 10:30 it changed and came from the north. They evacuated houses on Lake McConaughey and the town of Lewellen. Oshkosh residents were told to run pivots and be prepared to evacuate.”
High winds caused many roads to be closed, so the source was unable to travel to be with their family at the time. They knew of 32 departments assisting in fighting the fire.
“So many neighbors and Broadwater folks have been on rigs since 2:30 yesterday afternoon. It’s big. And it’s raw because it’s so close to home and your community is fighting it. Your neighbors are affected by it. Entire ranches have been lost, places that you knew.”
Nebraska rancher Leah Peterson shared that the loss is great.
“In the early hours after a tragedy, there are lots of rumors. I am not equipped to speak to too many facts, but I can confirm a few things because I have friends and family who are directly affected by the fires. There is loss: loss of fence and loss of structure and loss of life. Unfortunately, our critical fire conditions are not going anywhere. Our rural fire departments and first responders are American heroes.”
“It isn’t over yet,” said Cyndi Van Newkirk, Oshkosh, Nebraska. “We have 50 mile per hour winds in the forecast for three more days. It burned so much so fast. It was headed due east for about 60-70 miles and then when the wind switched directions out of the north it was a wall of fire 60-70 miles wide headed right into the populated valley. It changed so fast and there was nowhere near enough fire fighters to help.”
Many people have “lost everything,” Van Newkirk said. “We had three state patrol come roaring into our place at 12:30 a.m. sirens blaring telling us to evacuate. That’s all they could do was try to get as many warned as they could.”
Van Newkirk described the night as “apocalyptic.”
“It was just a wall of fire everywhere you looked. So far we’ve been incredibly blessed: we have not lost structures or cattle. Just summer range. But there are so many that have lost their homes. We are praying and on pins and needles until we get through the next few days with all these winds.”
KNOP reported that the Arthur County Sheriff’s Office confirmed a death on Friday that happened as a result of the Morrill County wildfire in western Nebraska.
Jay Nordhausen, co-owner/manager of Ogallala Livestock, Ogallala, Nebraska, told TSLN on March 13 that things are in motion for gathering hay, fencing supplies, and other resources needed for ranchers impacted by the gigantic Morrill Fire.
According to information from Watch Duty, the Morrill Fire has burned over 453,000 acres and traveled more than 65 miles in roughly six hours.
Nordhausen said he doesn’t know a lot about the full impact of the fire yet.
“We are just trying to wait and see,” he said. “It is supposed to blow for the next week so we are definitely a long ways from being out of the woods.”
Disaster relief organizations and local businesses are organizing drop points for hay and fencing supplies, and setting up donation accounts to provide financial assistance for affected producers. Ogallala Livestock is open for livestock needing to be evacuated from the path of the fire.
“We are trying to get a list of places for cattle to go,” Nordhausen said. “I have talked to two customers who said they saved the place and saved the cattle, and were able to save most of the feed, but every acre of their grass is gone. We’re waiting to see what we can do to help.”
Other fires in the area are also impacting livestock producers, although Nordhausen did not yet know to what extent.
“It is just horrible, everything is in quite the state right now,” he said. “The wind is supposed to blow for the next seven days. From May 15 to September 15, 2025, we received 25 inches of rain here, so we have got more fuel than you could imagine.”
Many cattle producers across Nebraska are in the midst of calving season.
“One producer I talked to said they would probably try to calve out their cows and then sell pairs. Unless we can find grass for everybody, that is probably what will happen,” Nordhausen said.
“The Complex Incident Management Team is coming in from Colorado, National Guard hand crews are coming, and National Guard air support is coming,” Keystone-Lemoyne Fire and Rescue Chief Ralph Moul told a News Channel Nebraska reporter in a video interview.
“A Multi-Mission Aircraft is coming. It can be used with flare capacity to pick up hot spots and also can be used to come up with an official acreage for the fire. They will also fly the Cottonwood Fire south of Maxwell.”
Chief Moul stressed that the public should be aware that the Morrill Fire is “still a very dangerous fire and it is going to continue to be dangerous over the coming days. We will have Red Flag conditions again later this afternoon, again on Sunday and again next week. Our fire meteorologist told us we will have summertime temperatures next week in the upper 80s to 90s with wind.”
Crews continue to attack the fire and are establishing lines with heavy equipment.
According to The Twister, a Nebraska radio network, Gordon, Rushville and Hay Springs firefighters are being sent to help fight the Morrill Fire near Oshkosh.
Donations for firefighters can be dropped off at the Keystone-Lemoyne fire hall and the Bridgeport fire hall.
Other Fires
According to a press release from the governor’s office, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received 24 reports of wildfires in the past 24 hours. Major fires that are being tracked include the following:
The Road 203 Fire south of the communities of Halsey and Dunning within the Nebraska National Forest. Due to its location, this fire is currently being managed by federal authorities.
The Lincoln County Fire (Cottonwood Fire) south of I-80, near Brady and Gothenburg.
The Morrill County Fire north of Nebraska Highway 92, between Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Lake McConaughy.
The Anderson Bridge Fire west of Valentine.
The Governor and his team have been closely monitoring these fires, which significantly worsened late yesterday with continued severe wind conditions across Nebraska. The fires have grown beyond the capacity of local wildland fire responders and firefighters.
Acting overnight, Gov. Pillen ordered the activation and deployment of multiple state assets and resources in response to the fires. Fire response actions include:
-Authorizing the deployment of 26 Nebraska National Guard soldiers and airmen to assist local fire crews.
-Ordering the deployment of a fixed-wing fire suppression aircraft for fire suppression.
-Ordering the deployment of a Nebraska Army National Guard helicopter and crew to support local fire fighters with quick and targeted aerial water drops, particularly in areas where ground respond capabilities are limited.
-Ordering the deployment of a Nebraska Army and Air National Guard firefighting hand crew to support local fire fighters.
-Ordering several Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) road graders to Oshkosh and surrounding areas. This heavy equipment will assist with creating fire breaks to slow the growth of existing wildfires and contain them.
-Activating a Complex Incident Management Team (CIMT) for consolidated management of the Morrill County and Lincoln County fires, which have exceeded 300,000 acres and 50,000 acres, respectively.
-Activating the State Emergency Operations Center to provide centralized interagency coordination and monitoring at NEMA headquarters in Lincoln.
In addition to the items above, the Nebraska State Patrol has been assisting with evacuations and traffic control in specific affected areas.
Gov. Pillen is expected to take an aerial tour of fire-impacted areas this weekend. Additional information will be shared concerning that helicopter tour when it becomes available.
The “Road 203 Fire” has burned 35,000 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, and started from a control burn area. According to Nebraska Public Media, Katrina Cerveny with the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency said the fire in Lincoln, Dawson and Frontier counties had burned 50,000 acres and at least 300 people were evacuated. The Anderson Bridge Fire in Cherry County west of Valentine burned a reported 5,000 acres. These acreages were reported Friday morning.
South Dakota
South Dakota also saw multiple fires on March 12, including a wildfire in Dewey County, and a wildfire in Custer County.
The USFS Custer, South Dakota office issued the following statement on March 13, 2026.
A Type 3 Incident Management Team is now in place for the Qury Fire, which is located approximately 1-2 miles southeast of Custer, SD. The incident began as two separate fires on Thursday afternoon and are now known jointly as the Qury Fire. Fire behavior moderated overnight with reduced winds. This morning, fire behavior is being minimized by less wind, cooler weather, and a higher relative humidity. The fire is estimated at 5,000 acres with no containment currently declared. Federal, state, and local resources will continue working together today in a unified effort to suppress the fire.
Todd Hoover, Incident Commander, set out two primary objectives to begin the day; prioritizing structure protection and working on obtaining containment around the fire perimeter. Crews are utilizing heavy equipment such as bulldozers and utilizing roads as natural fire breaks.
The team will be supported by National Guard air operations today. “We need non-emergency personnel to stay away from the fire area,” Hoover says. “The public is asked to avoid the fire area which is very busy with firefighters and equipment.” Please continue to avoid the area to allow firefighters to continue working on fire suppression. Many area roads remain closed, and evacuation orders are still in place. For the latest information on property, road closings, and evacuations please call the Custer County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at (605) 673-8155.
Randy Guggisberg opened his barn at Sliding G Performance Horses to livestock owners in the area needing to move animals to safety. Guggisberg believes the fire started when a tree fell on a power line.
Unseasonably warm and very windy weather caused the fire to move fast.
“The fire was east of us aways, with the wind blowing southeast,” Guggisberg said. “The main concern we had at the Sliding G was helping with getting livestock out of harm’s way to safe places.”
The situation is ongoing.
“We are still receiving livestock,” he said. “From what I know, the main damage to personal property was to fence lines and haystacks. But that’s with very limited knowledge. The open winter has been nice but pray for moisture. The fire crews have been working long and hard to keep everyone safe as they can.”
Disaster Relief
Patti Barnt, CEO of America’s Lifeline Emergency Response Team Foundation (ALERT), is coordinating relief measures.
“It is ironic that today is seven years since the Bomb Cyclone hit Nebraska, causing the 2019 flooding disaster,” Barnt said.
The March 12 fires are hitting close to home for Barnt.
“I have family all over the area and it is hard to find official updates,” she said.
ALERT has teamed up with Ogallala Ag supply, and Ogallala Livestock Auction Market to coordinate hay, livestock supplies and fencing needs for area livestock producers impacted by the devastating fire that is still impacting Arthur, Garden, Keith and Morrill Counties.
Hay/Fencing and Livestock Supplies:
Currently hay, fencing and livestock donations are being accepted at Ogallala Ag Supply 1210 North Hwy 61, Ogallala, Nebraska. Please contact Patti at 308-280-0025 before bringing semi loads or loads needing equipment to unload. We want to ensure equipment and personnel are available to unload.
We are working on securing locations in Oshkosh and Arthur.
Livestock producers needing emergency hay and/or fencing supplies; hay and supply donors and truckers wishing to donate your time, please contact Patti Barnt either on her cell listed above or at (877) 703-0183 call/text number or by email at heartlandlivestockaid@gmail.com.
Monetary Donations:
In Person: At Ogallala Ag Supply and Ogallala Livestock Auction – to receive a tax deduction checks must be made out to America’s Lifeline Emergency Response Team.
Online: https://givebutter.com/Nebraska-rises
Text to Give: NERISES to 53-555.
By Mail: Make checks to America’s Lifeline Emergency Response Team PO Box 316, Mullen, NE 69152
ALERT is a 501 (c) (3) Nebraska based disaster relief nonprofit organization. Our website is alertdisaster.org. A Facebook page, Nebraska Wildfire, Weather and Disaster ALERT, originally created for the 2019 disaster has been reactivated and updates can be found there.
