JOHNSTOWN, Neb. (AP) — A wildfire burning in a rugged, wooded area of Nebraska grew to more than 6,600 acres but by Thursday hundreds of firefighters managed to contain about 40% of the blaze.
The Plum Creek Fire started Monday afternoon from a controlled burn that got out of hand, said Jessica Pozehl, deputy emergency manager for Brown and Rock counties.
The fire, which has burned 6,631 acres (2,683 hectares), is mainly in steep, rugged canyon ground and also some grassy areas, she said. Johnstown, population 60 people, is the closest town to the fire in the Sandhills in the north-central part of the state. Some structures might be endangered, but no one's residence was in danger as of Thursday morning, Pozehl said.
More than 50 fire departments, joined by National Guard members, were fighting the blaze at its height, as many as 200 to 250 people, she said.
In recent days, responders used two planes to drop fire retardant, and two National Guard Black Hawk helicopters were dropping water on Wednesday and Thursday, Pozehl said.
The fire has killed 45 cattle and destroyed a cabin, according to Gov. Jim Pillen 's office. The governor issued a statewide burn ban and authorized the Nebraska National Guard to send 29 soldiers and airmen to help volunteer fire departments.
Much of Nebraska is facing drought conditions, with severe or moderate drought in Brown County where the fire is, said Shawn Jacobs, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in North Platte.
“This is typical for what we see every year during the spring months. We have dry, warm, windy days and that's kind of what happened leading up to the fire,” Jacobs said.
What really helped push the fire and made it difficult to control were gusty, erratic winds from dry showers that formed, he said.
Brown County saw from a tenth to a quarter inch (a half centimeter) of rain Wednesday and overnight, Jacobs said. Potential rain is in the forecast in days ahead.
This photo provided by Brown/Rock County Emergency Management shows a burned area of the Plum Creek Fire in north-central Nebraska in April 2025. (Jessica Pozehl/Brown, Rock County Emergency Management via AP)
In this photo provided by Brown/Rock County Emergency Management, the Plum Creek Fire burns in north-central Nebraska in April 2025. (Jessica Pozehl/Brown, Rock County Emergency Management via AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
