Firefighters at the scene of the grass fire near Bertrand, (Loomis Volunteer Fire and Rescue, Courtesy)
BERTRAND — Area fire departments responded to a wildfire that occurred near Bertrand during the early morning hours of Sunday, March 29.
Around 1:30 a.m., several Phelps County fire departments were dispatched west of Bertrand for the report of an ongoing grass fire. The fires were reported to have closed within three miles to the southeast of Bertrand.
Multiple central Nebraska Fire Departments would respond and provide mutual aid throughout the morning. The fire was reported to have burned around 1,200 acres, per the Western Fire Chief website.
The fire was deemed the Johnson Hills Fire Incident.
“While it is impossible to list at this time all of the fire departments, wildland agencies, farmers, ranchers, county, state and federal agencies, law enforcement, businesses, and individuals who are helping us with this fire, we do want to say thank you,” Bertrand Volunteer Fire and Rescue noted in a statement online.
