As of Sunday morning, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency reported that the three largest fires – the Morrill Fire, the Cottonwood Fire near Gothenburg and the Road 203 Fire near Halsey – had burned more than 600,000 combined acres. Some estimates have now put the Morrill Fire itself at over 500,000 acres.

While the northwest side of the Morrill Fire saw snow Saturday evening, strong winds and low temperatures into Sunday evening will create additional difficulties for firefighters. We have seen the first death directly caused by the fires, and we dread the news of another. We need this controlled now!