Fire fighters gain control of Votaw Road Wildfire amid red flag warnings and new fires
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) - Area wildfires in Lincoln and Custer Counties continued to keep central Nebraska volunteer firefighters on alert, even as the Votaw Road Wildfire was still being monitored up until 7:00 p.m., Sunday. A new fire just east of Highway 83 between Kabab and Watts Roads flared up around 2:30 p.m., Sunday but was responded to, and put out successfully by area volunteer fire departments in under one hour Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, a flare-up from Saturday’s prescribed burn near Sumner Road was fought successfully Sunday in Custer County from roughly 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
A red flag warning was in effect for much of the weekend. Meteorologists are forecasting moisture for the area early in the week. By 10 a.m. Monday the forecast shows a 20 percent chance of precipitation, with winds at 21 miles per hour and 29 degrees. By 2:00 p.m. precipitation chances increase to 70 percent.
In a Facebook post on March 16, Legislative candidate Chris Bruns of North Platte announced he signed a Disaster Declaration declaring a state of emergency on behalf of Lincoln County on the first evening of the wildfire, now known as the Votaw Road Wildfire. The Votaw Road Fire started Tuesday, March 15. It burned mostly the canyon areas east of Highway 83 at the end of Votaw Road, and was monitored until March 20 at 7:00 p.m. No containment was reported, but it is out and did not spread beyond an area reported by the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency as approximately 900 acres.
