Wildfire Burns Thousands of Acres in a Rural, Rugged Area of Nebraska

In this photo provided by Brown/Rock County Emergency Management, the Plum Creek Fire burns in north-central Nebraska in April 2025. Jessica Pozehl/Brown, Rock County Emergency Management via AP

JOHNSTOWN, Neb.—A wildfire burning in a rugged, wooded area of Nebraska grew to more than 6,600 acres but by Thursday hundreds of firefighters managed to contain about 40% of the blaze.

The Plum Creek Fire started Monday afternoon from a controlled burn that got out of hand, said Jessica Pozehl, deputy emergency manager for Brown and Rock counties.