Commentary: From floods to wildfires, Nebraska knows what extremes cost

Source Scout · Nebraska Examiner reports: An aerial view of wildfire damage in western Nebraska in mid-March 2026. (Photo courtesy of the Nebraska Governor’s Office) When the Platte and Missouri rivers surged in March 2019, they didn’t just spill over their banks — they washed out bridges, drowned livestock and submerged one-third of Offutt Air Force Base. Floodwaters covered part of the runway and wrecked high-tech flight simulators, triggering an estimated $650 million military rebuild at the time and leaving an estimated $1.3 billion in preliminary statewide losses in its wake. Then came the fires.

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