Fires burn an additional 58,000 acres

Fires in Boone, Cherry, Fillmore, Holt, Knox, Merrick and Nance counties accounted for an estimated 58,000 acres yesterday in Nebraska bringing fire acreage estimates to about 300,000 this fire season.

"There is potential for any spark to become a flame with these high winds and dry conditions," said Al Berndt, assistant director for Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. "We have activated our fire watch and hope we don't see more situations like we saw yesterday. This will be a persistent problem until we get some moisture on the ground. We really could use some snow.

The largest fire iis in Cherry County. Crookston was officially re-opened this morning. Fires are contained, but firefighters are having difficulty maintaining containment lines due to the wind.

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