While the Doane community was enjoying its spring break, Nebraska experienced two extreme weather events: a massive wildfire burning across Western Nebraska and a powerful blizzard that shut down part of Interstate 80.
According to Nebraska Public Media, the wildfires have scorched hundreds of thousands of acres, becoming some of the largest wildfires in Nebraska’s history. These fires primarily impacted ranchland, leaving some communities to deal with major losses.
At the same time, Eastern Nebraska was hit with near-whiteout blizzard conditions. Strong winds and low visibility led to a major multi-vehicle pileup on Interstate 80, forcing road closures and sending several people to the hospital. Flights that were coming into Omaha and Lincoln were also canceled due to the conditions.
“It was all just crazy,” senior Amy Parra said. “Seeing what the fires were doing on one side of the state, then a couple of hours later just seeing the blizzard and the conditions, it was just crazy.”
According to KETV Omaha, on March 19th, the Morrill Fire has burned 643,074 acres and is 98% contained, the Road 203 fire destroyed 35,902 acres and is 80% contained, the Cottonwood Fire destroyed 128,036 acres and is 80% contained and the Anderson Bridge Fire burned 17,400 acres and is 60% contained.
With the wildfires and the blizzard conditions, it shows how unpredictable Nebraska weather can be and how quickly things can escalate. Now that some of the firefighters from Eastern Nebraska have headed back to their homes, and the victims of the pile-up continue to recover, officials are urging people to stay informed and take these weather warnings seriously.
