Nebraska wildfires explode overnight, burn 330,000 acres across four counties
330,000 acres burned as Panhandle blaze becomes Nebraska’s biggest threat
March 13, 2026
Rescue teams across Nebraska battled several massive wildfires Thursday night into Friday, March 13.
The circumstances are becoming catastrophic as dry conditions and ferocious winds have turned the state into a tinder box, damaging hundreds of thousands of acres.
This has also prompted evacuations in the region.
Gov. Jim Pillen unveiled plans to deploy National Guard aerial firefighting assets to support exhausted local crews struggling to contain four primary blazes tearing through western and central Nebraska.
Firefighters reported that the Morrill Fire burned an estimated 330,000 acres across Morrill, Garden, Arthur, and Keith counties in the western Panhandle.
For Lewellen, the evacuation orders were lifted. However, the residents of north of Lake McConaughey remained under mandatory evacuation as crews worked through the night.
The Road 203 Fire in central Nebraska near Halsey has consumed almost 36,000 acres in Thomas County, Custer County, Logan County, and Blaine County. The fire has spread over an estimated 15 miles and has endangered the Nebraska National Forest.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued red flag warnings on Thursday, March 12, cautioning that any fires would spread uncontrollably due to wind and dry conditions.
