Nebraska is battling its largest wildfires in history. Worse may yet come

Nebraska is battling its largest wildfires in history. Worse may yet come

By Claire Cameron edited by Andrea Thompson

The swathes of Nebraska are engulfed in fire, with about 800,000 acres burned and at least one person killed. The wildfires, which are the “largest wildfires in our history,” according to a post on X by state Gov. Jim Pillen, are being fueled by a severe heat wave across the western United States

Temperatures in the 80s Fahrenheit have combined with low humidity, high winds and extreme drought to increase fire risk in the state for at least the coming week. The fires have already been burning for several days.

The largest of the fires, called the Morrill Fire, is less than 20 percent contained at the time of writing, according to a federal wildfire monitor. The fire, which started on March 12, grew rapidly due to strong winds. It is between around 550,000 and 643,000 acres in size. The cause of the Morrill fire remains unclear.

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The timing of these wildfires is not unusual: although wildfire season in this region of the United States typically peaks in June, wildfires have become a year-round concern, as dry vegetation, high winds, and low humidity combine to increase the risk of fires spreading. But widespread drought, caused in part by a lack of snowfall in the West and North, is exacerbating the risk, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, which monitors wildfires.

And so is the unseasonal heat: Western states like California and Arizona could see record high temperatures for this time of year over the next few days, and the summer-like heat could spread to the Great Plains region, according to the National Weather Service. Concerns about an active wildfire season are likely to remain high as the wet winter season draws to a close.

Research has shown that wildfires in the western United States are spreading faster as climate change leads to warmer and drier conditions there overall. Globally, the most extreme fires are twice as common as 20 years ago. And in the United States, there are more people and homes in the path of wildfires than there used to be.

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