Ash Creek fire fully contained

Officials say the largest of the fires being fought in northwest Nebraska has been 100 percent contained.

Cyd Janssen is a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman for the Nebraska National Forest and Grasslands. Janssen said Friday that GPS readings showed the Ash Creek fire blackened a little more than 3 square miles.

The fire started with lightning Saturday and burned mostly on federal recreation area land south of U.S. Highway 20 between Chadron and Crawford.

Another fire is burning about 10 miles south of Crawford in Dawes County, blackening less than a square mile of private land. Crawford Fire Chief Brian Prosser estimated late Thursday that the Steineke fire was about 60 percent contained.

Janssen says firefighters are concerned about flare-ups later Friday because wind gusts to 40 mph are expected.

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