HALSEY, Neb. (AP) — A wildfire that exploded in size in drought-stricken central Nebraska has destroyed much of a youth campsite and led officials to evacuate a nearby village.
The Bovee Fire was initially reported as having burned around 100 acres early Sunday in the Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest, officials said. By Sunday night, the grassland fire in the state’s Sandhills region had grown to about 15,000 acres, or around 24 square miles (62 square kilometers), according to the Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands.
None of the fire was contained by midday Monday, according to Travis Mason-Bushman, a spokesperson for the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team. However, a bulldozer was brought in to dig a containment line, and officials expected to have an update on containment later in the day Monday.
The Nebraska State 4-H Camp confirmed in a tweet that most of the camp’s buildings, including its main lodge and all of its youth cabins, were destroyed in the fire. Officials also evacuated the tiny nearby village of Halsey, which is home to about 65 people, and shut down a section of state Highway 2 as smoke from the fire cut visibility. The highway had reopened by Monday.
