Nebraska's largest wildfire in history is now over a half a million acres. On Thursday, March 12, an electrical pole snapped after succumbing to 70 mile an hour plus winds on a farm in Morrill County. Over a half a million acres are charred and yes, one day this land will be even better once it's healed. But until that time, our neighbors, friends, and even strangers who feed us are suffering. Several agencies around the Panhandle have set up tax deductible funds for those able to donate financially to the recovery effort. Local agencies in the Panhandle that we recommend, Oregon Trail Community Foundation, the United Way, and Nebraska Sandhills Rancher Fire Relief set up through Gordon Livestock.

We've set up a special fire relief page on our website at panhandlescanner.com.

One question we have for everyone in the area, if this were a war and the enemy was threatening you or your neighbors, lives, and property, what would you do?

We thank everyone for their prayers and their donations. And for those who are willing to join the fight, contact your local fire department today and join the fight in this largest fire in the history of our state. A list of fire departments and all the fire information about the Morrill Fire and others in Nebraska can be found on our website at panhandlescanner.com. Just look for the fire relief page.

We ask for your prayers for all of the farmers, ranchers, the brave and tireless firefighters, emergency response personnel, and everyone involved in this devastating emergency.

We cannot start today's news without thanking the area volunteer firefighters and emergency response personnel all over the Panhandle and beyond.

The state of Nebraska was on fire last night.

With too many individual stories to report, please see our news page at PanhandleScanner.com or our Facebook page by the same name. There is an important message posted at the top of our page from the Bridgeport Fire Department. The Bridgeport Fire Hall is open this morning for donations that everyone was asking about, including the need for Tylenol, Ibuprofen, baby wipes, eye drops, Chapstick, water, Gatorade, snacks, chips and sandwich fixins. That's what they could use if you fill inclined to help out by supporting the firefighters, take those items to the Bridgeport Fire Hall today.

Before the fire started, wind was causing severe damage around the valley, a shed blew over and struck a man causing an injury, and a hotel roof in Sidney was coming apart. While trampolines were slamming into the sides of people's houses, if it hadn't been for the devastating, fast-moving fires, the wind would have been the biggest story of the day.

But it didn't even come close.

In fact, there was a fatality crash on I-80 as well yesterday morning. In a minivan, rear ended a jeep causing it to go off the road with the driver succumbing to their injuries. The person in the suspect vehicle was arrested and charged initially with vehicular homicide. There must have been mitigating circumstances to levy that charge from the get-go. Typically, an accident that causes a death would be involuntary manslaughter. Stay tuned for more on this fatality on I-80 in the North Platte area.

We want to take a moment to congratulate Wyobraska Veterinary Services' Kodie Woodral and Dr. Danielle Becker!

On October 27th they were driving down Highway 26 on the way to their next farm call when they came across a serious wreck. As they got closer they realized there were no emergency responders on seeing yet and instinct told them to stop and help. The patient was already purple in color and showing signs of shock.

He had life threatening wounds and was bleeding heavily. They immediately placed a tourniquet to control the bleeding and stayed with him until EMS arrived. Once the regional EMS team got there they began working to stabilize the patient while also extracting him from the vehicle which took nearly 30 minutes. Because of the fast response and teamwork from everyone involved the patient went on to make a remarkable recovery.

Recently Regional West EMS honored Danielle and Kodie with the Emergency Intervention Commendation Award recognizing individuals who provide meaningful care before EMS arrives. Kodie and Danielle said they were both very surprised and honored to learn that they were the first recipients of this award. They continued saying that they were honored to be in the right place at the right time. Sometimes helping just means stopping and doing what you can.

Congratulations again to Danielle and Kodie of Wyobraska Veterinary Services.

Speaking of first responders, Regional West ultrasound technologist Michaela Gasseling and AirLink Flight nurse Mickey Votruba recently attended a career fair hosted by Hemingford Public Schools. Over 400 students from six schools had a chance to visit with area employers and colleges.

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Be sure to visit PanhandleScanner.com for these stories and more!