[NASA] Fires Tear Through Nebraska Grasslands

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3. Fires Tear Through Nebraska…

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February 28, 2026

March 29, 2026

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Plains in western Nebraska, divided by the North Platte River, appear in light shades of green and brown in a false-color satellite image.

NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin

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A burned area on the plains of western Nebraska appears as a large tan area in a false-color satellite image.

NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin

February 28, 2026March 29, 2026

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Plains in western Nebraska, divided by the North Platte River, appear in light shades of green and brown in a false-color satellite image.

NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin

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A burned area on the plains of western Nebraska appears as a large tan area in a false-color satellite image.

NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin

February 28, 2026

March 29, 2026

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Image Details

Acquired with the 

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 (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the 

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 satellite on February 28 and March 29, 2026, these false-color images (bands

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) show grasslands in western Nebraska before and after several wildland fires spread through the area. NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin.

On the afternoon of March 12, 2026, a wildland fire ignited in Morrill County, Nebraska. Within 12 hours, high winds had propelled flames approximately 70 miles (110 kilometers) east-southeast across the prairie. The

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would burn over 640,000 acres (260,000 hectares) within a week, becoming the

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in the state’s history.

This image (right) shows the extent of recently burned areas near the North Platte River in western Nebraska on March 29. By this time, authorities reported the Morrill fire was 100 percent contained. However, crews were working to contain two smaller blazes immediately to the northeast, the

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and

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fires, which ignited early on March 26. For comparison, the left image was acquired on February 28, before the fires. Both are

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to better distinguish the burned areas.

The fires occurred amid an active start for wildfires in the U.S. in 2026. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)

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that 15,436 fires had burned 1,510,973 acres nationwide as of March 27. That’s far higher than the 10-year average—9,195 fires burning 664,792 acres—for the same *******.

The Great Plains have been particularly

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in early 2026. Exceptionally dry

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contributed to rapid fire growth and other unusual fire behavior for the time of year,

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. Throughout the winter, much of the region saw warmer and windier-than-average conditions, as well as less than 50 percent of average precipitation over a 90-day *******, leading to low soil moisture and grass fuels that were primed to burn.

The fires in western Nebraska affected large areas of ranch and pasture lands, destroyed homes, barns, and fences, and injured or killed livestock, according to

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. The Morrill fire also burned much of the

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in the

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, an area of grasslands, wetlands, and dunes used by migratory birds. Despite the fires,

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indicate that

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of sandhill cranes are still making their annual migration through the Platte River valley.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using VIIRS data from NASA 

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, 

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, and the 

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 (JPSS). Story by Lindsey Doermann.

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February 28, 2026

JPEG (1.94 MB)

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March 29, 2026

JPEG (1.93 MB)

References & Resources

• InciWeb (2026)
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  . Accessed March 30, 2026.
• National Interagency Fire Center (2026, March 27)
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  . Accessed March 30, 2026.
• National Interagency Fire Center (2026, March 20)
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  . Accessed March 30, 2026.
• Nebraska Public Media (2026, March 30)
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  . Accessed March 30, 2026.
• The Washington Post (2026, March 24)
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  . Accessed March 30, 2026.

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