As another wave of wildfires ignited last Wednesday, western and central Nebraska property owners aren’t just praying for rain anymore – they’re preparing for how much worse this year could get.

The most recent findings released Thursday by the National Drought Mitigation Center show drought has increased in the last week across a wide stretch of western and central Nebraska – from Sioux to Boyd counties. More than half of the state, 56%, is now seeing extreme levels of drought, according to the newest measurements released Thursday.

RICHBURG, S.C. (AP) — It took less than three minutes for wind-whipped flames to go from licking the side of the house to shattering a window and working under the eaves to burn everything inside. Weeks later, another house in the exact same spot was burning — again in the name of science.

As Harmon Maher walked along the Keystone Trail in central Omaha one morning in February, he spotted something odd: The creek next to the path, normally a gray-green color, ran bright orange.

It was full of sediment, probably from some construction upstream, the retired geology professor reasoned. Maher didn’t think much of it until hours later when his son alerted him to a mishap that was quickly becoming the talk of the town.