Single Publication

Road 702 Fire Update

Sunday, April 24, 2022 – 3 pm

Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team One

Dan Dallas, Incident Commander

Special Note:  The Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team One (CIMT1), with Dan Dallas as Incident Commander, assumed command of the Road 702 Fire at 7 a.m.  The CIMT1 brings overhead supervision and logistical support to incidents when local resources reach capacity.  This update will also provide a brief update of other fires happening within the state.

Special Safety Information:

The public is asked to avoid the Road 702 Fire area and to use caution when driving in areas with reduced visibility due to smoke and dust. As residents return to homes, trees and some structures may be unstable and pose a hazard for those working and living in affected areas. Please be cautious of surroundings as hazards may be present that did not exist prior to the fire.

Road 702 Current Situation:

The Road 702 Fire is estimated at 50,000 acres.  A Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA) from Colorado is currently flying the fire and will be able to provide a more accurate size as well as identify locations within the fire area where hot spots exist. This will allow firefighters to focus on areas that still pose a risk to life and property.  

As a fire gets larger and additional resources are brought in, the fire is broken into geographic areas called Branches and Divisions to help focus suppression efforts and to help with supervisory span of control. We will use these terms in our updates to provide specific information about each part of the fire perimeter. Branches and Divisions will be shown on the fire maps.

Branch I (West side)-  Branch I encompasses the area from Cambridge west along the fire edge and south to Lebanon, NE.  Firefighters in this area are continuing to secure existing firelines by mopping up any hotspots that remain.  Primary areas of concern are timbered draws especially in the Republican River breaks.

Branch III (East side)- Branch III encompasses east and south perimeters of the fire from Cambridge south to Wilsonville and into Kansas.  Firefighters in this area are continuing to mop up and secure the fireline along the Republican River and US-6 working south towards Wilsonville. Areas of concern are timbered draws and hay bales near the fire edge.  Additional operations personnel are scouting the fire edge south of Wilsonville and coordinating with resources in Kansas.

Weather: Temperatures will be around 64 degrees today dropping into the high 20’s tonight.  Winds are predicted to be 20-26 mph with gusts to around 35 mph.  Today’s Haines Index is 4 to 6 which means there is moderate to high potential for large plume dominated fire growth.

Evacuations and Fire Restrictions: All evacuations have been lifted at the time of this update.  For information on fire restrictions in Nebraska, please visit https://sfm.nebraska.gov/fire-departments/burn-permits.
 

Road 702 Fire Statistics:

Size: estimated at 50,000 acres

Total Personnel: 100 plus

Location: Red Willow, Furnas and Frontier Counties

Reported: April 22, 2022

For More Information on Road 702 Fire:

  Fire Information Phone: 402-327-1511

Fire email: 2022.nebraskaspring@firenet.gov

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