Nebraska Ranchers Survive the State’s Largest Recorded Wildfire

Craig Shaffer was in an Oshkosh, Nebraska hardware store when he first sensed that March 12, 2026 might become a day he'd remember.

Craig Shaffer, general manager, Rush Creek Land and Livestock - Lisco, Nebraska: "I saw a fire truck go by and somebody said, 'Yeah, I heard there was a fire started up by Angora, north of Bridgeport.' And I said, 'Oh my, that's not good. We had a fire come through that started in very close to the same spot in 1989.'... I knew that it could roll across us and a lot of other ground .. I mean the grass is cured out, it’s all brown and nothing but fuel."

The Sandhills was a tinderbox after months of drought.

Dispatcher, Morrill County, Nebraska: "Attention, Bridgeport Fire Department, we have a grass fire at the Dove Ranch…."

 The fire started as crews tried to re-erect two utility poles toppled by high winds, but the wires accidentally crossed and sparked. This new federal satellite wildfire tool shows how it traveled 70 miles in the first 12 hours. 

As general manager of Rush Creek ranch, 166,000 acres in western Nebraska, Shaffer immediately thought about the ranch's 8,500 cows, most a few weeks from calving. Shaffer warned the ranch’s employees whose bases might be in the fire’s path. One worker had a close call.

Craig Shaffer, general manager, Rush Creek Land and Livestock - Lisco, Nebraska: "I called him... and I said, 'Are you seeing smoke yet?' And he said, 'It's so thick I can't see the end of the hood on the pickup.' And I said, 'Where are you?' And he said, 'Well, I'm trying to move some cows.' I said, 'Don't be a hero. Please leave.' ... I don't like to think about it. I'm just glad everybody was safe."

The Morrill Fire would not be fully contained for 12 days, ultimately burning 643,000 acres in the Nebraska panhandle, an area almost equal to the size of Rhode Island, and the largest recorded single wildfire in the state's history. One woman was killed, as were more than 200 cattle and other livestock, and numerous buildings were destroyed.

As of July, 2026 wildfires in Nebraska have burned a record 935,000 acres. Nebraska's previous statewide annual record was just over 348,000 acres in 2012.

Dirac Twidwell, professor, University of Nebraska: "Really over the last 10, now to 15 years, we’ve seen a major increase in the total amount of area burned by wildfires in the Great Plains. What we … used to say is you know, when I was down at Texas and Oklahoma, this is going to be the next wildfire frontier in the United States. And then that started to play out in 2006, 2008, 2011... Then we said it was Kansas, then now it's Nebraska."

Drought and high winds have combined with the spread of so-called "volatile fuels," particularly eastern red cedar trees, to worsen the problem.

Dirac Twidwell, professor, University of Nebraska: "You hear a sense of urgency, not just here, but South Dakota. You know, now North Dakota is starting to talk about cedar just starting to emerge and expand."

Twidwell’s team has created digital maps showing locations of historical fires to remind ranchers that even the delicate Sandhills recover over time. 

But it’s hard to think that far ahead when things looked as bleak as they did for Dusty Wilson on March 12. Wilson, who ranches with his father, Delwin, and wife, Brandee, near Arthur, was getting texts that afternoon as friends to the west tried to fight the fire.

Dusty Wilson, Lazy Five Ranch, Arthur, Nebraska: "Those embers were going out probably a hundred yards out in front of it all the time... By the time we heard it was 15 miles away to when we saw it here, was just a matter of minutes."

Wilson’s wife had taken the kids to safety but he stayed behind with his 85-year-old father to open gates for the cattle and horses.

Dusty Wilson, Lazy Five Ranch, Arthur, Nebraska: "That’s when the fire crested the hill right behind his house...We had already had the evacuation notice prior to that. And then we finally heeded that call at that time. And tried to leave the valley here and actually weren't able to because when we tried to go up the hill here, the fire jumped the road in front of us."

They turned off the road, trying to outrun it.

Dusty Wilson, Lazy Five Ranch, Arthur, Nebraska: "The whole hill line at the other end of the valley was engulfed in flames. The winds were 75 miles an hour coming across it from northwest to southeast. And you couldn't see. So you didn't quite know where the flames were chasing you... When the fire wrapped around here in my yard, we thought this place was gone. And, you know, part of me…wanted to stay and save this house. But having my father with me, I knew I had to save him, too."

They made for a windmill, knowing cattle traffic keeps the ground bare.

Dusty Wilson, Lazy Five Ranch, Arthur, Nebraska: "You know, adrenaline kicks in as you are trying to save your place, and your cattle and whatnot….There was a brief moment there as we were trying to kind of pick our way to safety.…he and I had a little time, a second or two to maybe talk about a few things.”

They had no cell service, but they hung their hopes on that 40-foot circle of sand. After enduring the smoke and embers that made the world around them dark, the fire finally passed.

About 90% of Lazy Five Ranch's 14,000 acres burned, but the cattle and horses all survived. One group of about 300 cows found its way to one of the few small areas the fire skipped. The heartbreak came when the two men learned their 86-year-old neighbor and friend, Rose White, had not survived.

In early July, the federal government declared Arthur, Garden, Grant, Lincoln and Morrill counties disaster areas, citing $9.6 million in damage. The panhandle has slowly begun to recover but much of the area remains in exceptional or extreme drought. Many ranchers have moved cattle elsewhere as the range recovers.

Dusty Wilson, Lazy Five Ranch, Arthur, Nebraska: "Any of the ranchers around here, from guys my age to all the older guys, had never seen anything quite like that before."

By Colleen Bradford Krantz, [email protected]