CAMBRIDGE, Neb. (AP) — Wind-driven wildfires sweeping through parts of Nebraska contributed to the death of one person and injured at least three firefighters, authorities said Sunday.
The person who died was in Red Willow County, in the southwest corner of the state, Nebraska Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Jodie Fawl said. She said she didn’t have details about that person or where the firefighters were injured, though she said their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Blazes have been reported in 12 counties in around the state since Friday. The state agency said they were still burning Saturday night in five counties in Nebraska’s southwest: Perkins, Hayes, Furnas, Red Willow and Frontier counties. The agency didn’t provide estimates of the total area that had been burned or the number of homes or other structures that had been destroyed.
Several small towns, including Cambridge, Bartley, Indianola and Wilsonville, in Nebraska’s southwest and Macy in its northeast, were forced to temporarily evacuate because of the fires. The evacuation orders were lifted Saturday.
The Nebraska National Guard deployed three helicopters and several support trucks to help battle the blazes.