WESTERN NEBRASKA — Four major wildfires in western Nebraska have burned nearly 800,000 acres and killed at least one person. Governor Jim Pillen declared a state of emergency for fire-affected counties.

Rose White, an 86-year-old woman from Arthur, died trying to escape the Morrill Fire. The Morrill Fire is the largest of Nebraska's four major wildfires, with conflicting reports on its size. According to the incident command team, the fire had burned 572,084 acres and was 18% contained early Tuesday evening, while Erv Portis, assistant director of Nebraska's emergency management agency, said at a news conference that the fire had consumed 600,000 acres.

An estimated 300 residents in the Morrill Fire area were under evacuation orders but were allowed to return to their homes, according to the Morrill Fire incident command team. The cause of the Morrill Fire is officially undetermined, according to the incident command team, though Governor Pillen said Friday that high winds fanned an electrical fire that stood at the origin of the Morrill Fire.

The Cottonwood Fire had consumed 131,259 acres and was 40% contained, according to the incident command team. The Road 203 Fire in Nebraska National Forest had spread across 35,386 acres and was 36% contained by Tuesday, according to the Road 203 Fire incident command team. The Anderson Bridge Fire, which erupted on March 12 in Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest, had burned 17,400 acres and was 60% contained by Tuesday, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association.

Nebraska National Guard and Iowa National Guard personnel, including two Iowa National Guard Black Hawk helicopters, along with federal commanders, FEMA officials, and more than 700 firefighters, were assigned to fight the wildfires, according to state officials and the incident command team. Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest is closed through April 13 to ensure public safety and allow fire crews to pass without obstruction, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Most of the fires started on Thursday of last week during low humidity and strong winds. Wind gusts reached 61 mph on Saturday, according to National Weather Service data. Red flag warnings for much of western Nebraska are forecast to return at 10 a.m. Wednesday and cover four days, with forecasts predicting gusts of up to 35 mph, high temperatures in the 80s, and humidity below 15%.

On Sunday, Governor Pillen described the state's four major wildfires as "the largest wildfires in our history." Pillen also signed an executive order aiming to cut red tape in providing feed and other needed supplies to livestock affected by the wildfires.