A large fire on the banks of the Missouri River in Council Bluffs burned hundreds of acres of land over the weekend.
The fire started around midnight Saturday night and burned through the day on Sunday, forcing the Veterans Memorial Bridge to shut down for a time. Officials say the fire started in an ATV park near the river, burning about 300 acres of land. The smoke could be seen for miles in the Omaha metro.
Council Bluff Assistant Fire Chief Derrick Williams tells 6 News that dead trees and brush from logging a few summers ago fueled the fire. He says while the wind is somewhat to blame for the flames, it also helped firefighters. "Actually it's working in our favor and keeping it over the river and not blowing back into town and effecting Spring Street Bridge 80 traffic."
The fires were monitored overnight on Sunday to make sure any rekindling could be handled.