Relief efforts continue as fire burns in Gosper, Furnas Counties
ARAPAHOE, Neb. -- Emergency management officials say relief efforts continued Friday morning as a fire continued burning in Gosper and Furnas Counties.
The fire was initially reported near the intersection of Highways 18 and 183 Thursday afternoon.
High winds in the region created difficult conditions for firefighters throughout Thursday.
The National Weather Service estimates that approximately 30,000 acres have been burned.
A total of 26 fire crews remained on the scene by Friday morning.
Power remains affected for several people in the area, with several reports of outages still by Friday morning.
Schools were also affected by the fire, with some cancelling classes Friday morning, including Southern Valley, with the school announcing Thursday night that it was cancelling classes on Friday morning. The school did announce, however, that it would be serving meals to first responders.
One person died in a crash near Arapahoe when a vehicle collided with an emergency vehicle Thursday evening. The crash claimed the life of Elwood Fire Chief Darren Krull and injured Phelps County Emergency Manager Justin Norris.
Highways 6 and 34 had re-opened by Friday morning, but portions of Highway 283 had closed again early Friday after previously re-opening.
Local businesses organizations are gathering supplies to donate to those affected by the fire. Arapahoe Public Schools opened their doors to serve breakfast to first responders, while area businesses like Mustang Feed & Supply and Live Wire LLC were organizing donation efforts.
