Grass fire burns 500+ acres north of Thedford

THEDFORD, Neb. — A grass fire is contained on Tuesday evening after burning hundreds of acres of ranch land.

It started near Highway 83 north of Thedford. Fire crews on scene said the flames spread quickly and consumed more than 500 acres. At one point, firefighters said some houses were threatened, but no buildings ended up being lost. The blaze is now contained.

LIVE REPORT FROM THE SCENE

The area was in a Red Flag Warning because of low humidity and wind gusts up to 35 mph. Firefighters endured unseasonably hot temperatures in excess of 80 degrees when fighting the fire.

Officials say a semi truck malfunction sparked the fire.

Several departments responded to the scene, including Thedford, Brownlee, Halsey, Purdum, Dunning, Anselmo, Mullen, Valentine, Johnstown, Raven, Calamus, and Ainsworth. Crews with the National Forest Service also helped, along with two planes from Arrow Aviation. Fire crews remain on site Tuesday night.