Grass fires break out in dangerously dry conditions
Lack of rain, warm temperatures and low humidity created dangerous conditions
By News Channel NebraskaBEATRICE – Firefighters in southeast Nebraska were called to at least two grass fires Wednesday afternoon, in tinder-dry conditions.
Beatrice Rural Firefighters and a Homestead National Historical Park fire unit were sent to two fires, northwest of Beatrice along West Hickory Road. One fire, in a field drainage area was burning about a mile southeast of Tri County Public Schools.
The second fire was less than a mile northwest of the Koch Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant.
The fire near the Koch plant was between a house and grain bins, not far from a railroad branch line.
Beatrice Rural Firefighters were using a pumper truck to load water onto grass-rig units….and just after two p.m. called for assistance from the DeWitt Volunteer Fire Department.
Temperatures were in the upper 70s with humidity readings at around 20-percent, with winds from the north at 10-15 miles per hour.
What caused the fires was not immediately known.
