Fire takes down structure Saturday morning, in Ellis
Blaze fought by multiple departments pushes smoke across U.S. Highway 136
By News Channel NebraskaBEATRICE – Firefighters and water sources from multiple departments fought a debris fire in southeast Nebraska Saturday morning.
The fire call just before 8:30 a.m. initially reported a grass fire in the unincorporated village of Ellis, southwest of Beatrice. But gusting winds fueled flames that destroyed an abandoned trailer home that apparently was being taken apart.
A second trailer home was located just east of the fire and remained standing. A camping unit south of the blaze apparently was not damaged.
South winds of 25 miles per hour, gusting to 45 miles per hour pushed smoke from the fire across nearby U.S. Highway 136. Gage County Sheriff’s deputies were sent to the scene for traffic control, although the smoke did not appear to hinder motorists visibility on the highway.
Fire trucks and personnel from the Beatrice Rural Fire Department, Plymouth and Diller Fire Departments and a unit from the Homestead National Historical Park were sent to the scene.
Tankers trucks hauled additional water to the fire as firefighters used a portable tank set up on Southwest 117th Road, to fight the blaze.
There were no reports of injuries. It was unclear if anyone was at the scene when the fire started. The cause of the blaze is not immediately known.
Much of southern Nebraska was included in a Red Flag Warning Saturday, for extreme fire danger conditions.