JOHNSTOWN, Neb. - Firefighters continue to battle a wildfire northwest of Johnstown that began as a prescribed burn by Nebraska Game and Parks. According to Ainsworth Fire Chief Brad Fiala, the fire broke containment around 3:15 p.m. Monday after a sudden shift in wind direction.

“The wind pushed it back to the east, broke out of containment, and the fire just took off,” said Fiala.

By Tuesday morning, the fire had burned an estimated 12,000 to 14,000 acres, primarily grassland. Fiala said crews worked to protect structures in the fire’s path. One cabin may have been lost, though that had not been confirmed as of Tuesday morning. There was also no confirmation yet on livestock losses.

As News Channel Nebraska reported Monday, multiple fire departments and a plane responded to the fire. However, Fiala said Monday’s wind made firefighting efforts difficult.

“The plane did do one drop yesterday, but the winds were so heavy it wasn’t effective. We’re going to try to utilize it more today,” said Fiala.

As of Tuesday morning, Fiala estimated the fire was about 30 percent contained. Most responding departments have since been released, aside from crews from Ainsworth and Johnstown.

“The winds switched directions four or five times while we were fighting the fire,” said Fiala.

In addition to the Johnstown fire, firefighters were also called to a separate fire near Norden on Monday.