Multiple fire departments battling blaze in Lincoln County
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) - Jodie Fawl, Public Information Officer with National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Lincoln, says nearly 1000 acres are being cared for in a second day fighting a wildfire in the southern part of Lincoln County.
The 892 confirmed acres affected in the area east of Highway 83 and Highway 23 intersection south of North Platte and north of Wellfleet started on fire Tuesday afternooon.
Currently, the containment is considered zero percent contained. That percentage will be updated soon. On day two very little smoke is being seen since the fire is down in the canyons.
As of Wednesday, there are 15 fire departments, the Nebraska National Guard, and the Wildland Incident Response Team from the State Fire Marshall Agency helping with this fire. This includes a team of six from the National Emergency Management Agency. Fawl explains the state is involved only to offer assistance and resources, not to rescue or take over the operation. The incident commander is Greg Blank of Frontier County.
Much of the fire is being controlled from the air with airplanes and a helicopter. The helicopters are filling the attached buckets with water from area lakes, such as Lake Maloney and Wellfleet Lake.
