Grass fire in progress, (Brian Neben, Courtesy)
BROKEN BOW — Multiple wildfires broke out across Custer County on Monday, Feb. 24 and two firefighters were injured responding to one of the fires.
According to the Custer County Emergency Management, there were eight separate firefighters, four of them merged into two larger fires and one was extinguished on Monday. Three active fires persisted overnight.
The fires impacted around 6,000 acres as of Monday evening. Several homes were under threat as the firefighters had to contend with muddy conditions as the remaining snowpack melted amid temperatures 20 degrees above the average.
Firefighters from across Custer County and neighboring areas were engaged with the fires as well as four aircraft in total were deployed to help with containment operations.
There were two firefighters who were injured while responding to the Lillian Road fire north of Broken Bow when their truck rolled into a canyon.
One firefighter was transported to the Melham Medical Center and was treated and released. The other was transported to CHI Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney and remains in stable condition under medical care.
Patient names will no be released.
Custer County fire departments received a much-needed break overnight as neighboring departments took over monitoring duties to maintain safety and control.
No civilian injuries have been reported.
Residents are strongly advised to avoid active fire areas to ensure the safety of both the public and emergency personnel. No evacuations have been ordered at this time.