Burn Ban Extended for Central, Western Nebraska; Plum Creek Fire 95% Contained

By Zach Wendling

LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen enacted a new burn ban Tuesday for central and western Nebraska through May 10 in response to continued “very dry” conditions.

The new executive order rescinds a previous mandate last week prohibiting permitted burns statewide through the end of the month. With the new order, burns are allowed in eastern Nebraska unless there is an active red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service for a specific area.

The initial burn ban came after a prescribed fire April 21 got out of control in the Plum Creek area near Johnstown in Brown County.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than a week after the fire started, containment was up to 95%, according to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. Johnstown Fire as well as Nebraska Game and Parks were on scene for a couple of hot spots on the northern perimeter as needed.

The new burn ban runs south along U.S. Highway 81 from the South Dakota border to Highway 92. It then goes west to U.S. Highway 281 and runs south to the Kansas border.

A total of 62 counties are in the new burn ban, 10 of which are partially in the ban (denoted by asterisks): Adams*, Antelope, Arthur, Banner, Blaine, Boone, Box Butte, Boyd, Brown, Buffalo, Cedar*, Chase, Cherry, Cheyenne, Custer, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Dundy, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Garden, Garfield, Gosper, Grant, Greeley, Hall*, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Holt, Hooker, Howard*, Kearney, Keith, Keya Paha, Kimball, Knox, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, Madison*, McPherson, Merrick*, Morrill, Nance, Perkins, Phelps, Pierce*, Platte*, Polk*, Red Willow, Rock, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Thomas, Valley, Webster*, and Wheeler.

The Nebraska Examiner is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. The Examiner retains full editorial independence.