LINCOLN- Gov. Jim Pillen late Monday approved a state disaster that allows funds from the Governor’s Emergency Fund to be used to assist in the response to a wildfire in west-central Nebraska. A fire prompted evacuations from North Platte to north of Gothenburg Monday amid high winds and red-flag warnings.

At the request of county officials, Nebraska’s Incident Management Team, as well as members of the state’s Wildland Incident Response Assistant Team, have been deployed and will assist local responders in the coming days. Two National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters will be deployed to the fire and begin operations to drop water on the fire. Additional aircraft will be used to map the fire to assist teams as they plan the best strategy to fight the fire.

Local officials in Custer and Lincoln Counties declared emergencies and requested state assistance due to the large wildfire that has closed roads, required multiple evacuations and required the response of multiple volunteer fire departments from around the region. The fire, which originated north of North Platte from an unknown cause, is burning on private lands in Lincoln and Custer Counties.

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