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Morrill Fire burns over 643000 acres in the Nebraska Panhandle

By Scott Bachmeier •

1-minute GOES-19 GeoColor RGB images with an overlay of NGFS Fire Detection polygons (with/without County outlines + surface observations) from 1930 UTC on 12 March to 0500 UTC on 13 March [click to play MP4 animation]

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-19 (GOES-East) GeoColor RGB images with an overlay of Next Generation Fire System (NGFS) Fire Detection polygons (above) displayed the thermal signatures and daytime smoke plume associated with the Morrill Fire (Watch Duty | InciWeb) in the Nebraska Panhandle on 12 March 2026 (the initial NGFS detection was at 1939 UTC). Surface observations in the vicinity of the fire depicted wind gusts exceeding 60 mph at times (for example, at sites north and southwest of the fire at 2141 UTC). These strong winds — along with dry fuels from ongoing extreme drought conditions — helped the fire to make a rapid southeast run of about 65 miles in 6 hours. Burning over 643000 acres, the Morrill Fire has become the largest wildfire on record for the state of Nebraska; one fatality was directly attributed to the fire.

The initial southeastward run of the fire transitioned to a more gradual southward spread around 0300 UTC on 13 March, as a cold front moved southward across the region (surface analyses). The GOES-19 3.9 µm shortwave infrared brightness temperature first reached 138ºC — the saturation temperature of GOES-19 ABI Band 7 detectors — at 0236 UTC.

During the subsequent nighttime hours, the bright glow of the Morrill Fire was evident in a NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band image (source) at 0907 UTC on 13 March (below).

NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band image at 0907 UTC on 13 March, centered on the Morrill Fire [click to enlarge]

During the afternoon hours of 13 March, a toggle between NOAA-21 VIIRS True Color RGB and Day Fire RGB images (below) showed the large size of the Morrill Fire burn scar at 1931 UTC, with some fires (shades of red in the Day Fire RGB) still active along the periphery of the burn scar.

NOAA-21 VIIRS True Color RGB and Day Fire RGB images at 1931 UTC on 13 March [click to enlarge]

Categories: Fire detection, GOES-19, NGFS, NOAA-20, NOAA-21, RealEarth, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, VIIRS