Fire officials are saying the Spotted Tail Fire located five miles south of Chadron is nearing containment and still at 83 acres with a 2-1/2-mile perimeter.

The level of containment was placed at 95% yesterday afternoon, and Assistant Chadron Fire Chief Jack Rhembrandt told a briefing this morning that the containment lines continued to be strengthened.

Rhembrandt said “things are going really well out there and it’s looking good 100 feet into the black,” a reference to the interior perimeter of the fire.

The public is still being urged to avoid the burn area for safety reason, and Rhembrandt says everyone needs to be wise about their activities because although it is October, conditions remain dry and the fire danger is still high.

The fire is entirely on the Pine Ridge Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands, burning on a part of the much larger 2006 Spotted Tail Fire. Dead and downed trees from the earlier fire provided this fire with most of its fuel.

Units from the U-S Forest Service and the Chadron Volunteer Fire Department are continuing to strengthen the containment lines and monitor the fire.

The U-S Forest Service has reduced the estimated size and increased the estimated level of containment for the Spotted Tail Fire…located about 5 miles south of Chadron.

A 2 pm release puts the fire at 95% contain, but cites GPS mapping in shrinking the estimated size of the fire from 100-acres to 83-acres…all on the Pine Ridge Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands have been burned.

The fire was reported Saturday morning in an area burned in the much larger 2006 Spotted Tail Fire, where trees killed in the earlier blaze provided plenty of hot-burning fuel.

There have been no injuries reported and no structures damaged or currently threatened. Several roads in the Spottted Tail area are temporarily closed and fire officials continue to ask people to avoid the area.

Pine Ridge Ranger District Fire Management Officer Weston Burch credits local Volunteer Fire Departments with holding the fire in check in its initial stages even though it “exhibited rapid growth and was resistant to containment.”

Burch says the VFDs did a great job of responding quickly and stopped potentially significant advancements through a variety of firefighting techniques including two drops by a single-engine air tanker.

The initial response included units from the Chadron, Crawford, Rushville, Hemingford, Hay Springs, and Hot Springs VFWs with the U.S. Forest Service mobilizing five engines.

Firefighters from the Chadron and Crawford VFDs and the Forest Service are continuing to mop-up, securing fire lines and working toward full containment.

The Forest Service will provide additional information in the Monday morning update unless conditions warrant earlier updates.

The First Annual Veterans Day Parade in Alliance will be held on Saturday, November 10th at 10:00 am. The parade will be a tribute to our Veterans and was first initiated by the Box Butte County Veterans Service Office. Other sponsors in this great event are American Legion Post #7, American Legion Post #4, the VFW, Alliance Times Herald and KCOW Radio. The Alliance Kiwanis has volunteered to help organize the actual parade that day as well. The Alliance Chamber of Commerce along with many other interested groups and individuals will be helping to organize, promote, and participate in the parade. No judging will be done in this parade as it is completely a tribute to our Military.

The Parade will kick off our Veterans Patriotic Weekend! The committee is asking everyone to really support this weekend. Businesses are encouraged to contactAmy Jensen at 760-4215 if they have any type of promotion to honor present or past military personnel.

The planners of this event invite and encourage local civic organizations, religious organizations, businesses, and individuals to participate in honoring all military veterans. This is a perfect opportunity to show all veterans that you believe in what they have done and are still doing.

Before the parade begins the American Legion Post #7 will offer free coffee & donuts for Parade participants beginning at8 a.m. at the Post Home in Alliance.

The parade will begin at 10:00 a.m., with form-up starting at 9:15 a.m. in the area between 8th and 10th streets on Box Butte Avenue. The parade will proceed south on Box Butte Ave. and will then turn east on 4th Street to Laramie Ave. for dispersal. Not knowing what the participation will be, this year’s parade will only be 4 blocks long but we can show our Veterans that we have never forgotten the sacrifices they made for us.

The Committee encourages as much participation as possible with as many entries as possible. If people just want to walk and carry a flag they can. As you plan your float or entry remember that for safety reasons, candy and/or trinket throwing from floats will not be allowed. Entry units are encouraged to have some walkers who may hand distribute candy and/or trinkets as they wish to those lined up along the parade route.

Parade participant registration forms may be acquired by downloading a copy from the Chamber of Commerce website www.alliancechamber.com, in the Alliance Times-Herald or area businesses. Parade registration forms should be completed as soon as possible and returned by mail or in person to Alliance Chamber of Commerce office,P.O. Box 571 or 305 Box Butte Ave. The deadline for entry is Wednesday, November 7th at 5:00 pm. in order to be able to organize the parade.

If you have a current soldier serving in our Military and would like to carry a picture of them during the parade, or ride on a community float, please contact Millie Clark at 762-3434 or 760-2168.

Further information or answers to any questions can be acquired by calling Dixie Nelson, Director, Alliance Chamber of Commerce. 762-1520, Millie Clark, 760-2168 orSherri Fry 762-4994. Again, for planning purposes, it is highly preferred that registrations be in by Wednesday, November 7 before 5 p.m.

After the parade the Box Butte County Soldiers Support Group and the YMCA will have a tent set up in front of theUnited Methodist Church at 7th and Box Butte for area residents to sign a Christmas card or jot a note to a Soldier serving overseas. The United Methodist Women will be offering free refreshments inside the Church in the Fellowship Hall for all those that would like to participate.

The Mobile Vet Center (MVC) will be a part of the parade and will be parked beside theMethodist Church for a short time after the parade. This is a great opportunity for Veterans to get information on programs offering several types of assistance that provide assessment, re-adjustment and referral following deployment. Families are welcome to visit the van as well with no cost to anyone.

Remember that the following day there will be a Veterans Day Program at the Performing Arts Center at the Alliance High School at 1450 Box Butte Avenue. Another great activity to watch for is the Knight Museum and Sandhills Center’s showing of “V-Day 11-11-11” which will be shown the week of November 5th thru the 9th at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm. For more information call 762-2384. There will also be a Patriotic Sing Along for Veterans and families at the Alliance Public Library Thursday night November 8th at 6:30 pm.

The Veterans Day Committee extends a thank you for your support, cooperation, and consideration for this parade and asks that you please mark your calendar for Saturday, November 10, and make plans to attend and/or participate in this year’s 1st Annual Veterans Day Parade honoring our Military Veterans … past, present, and future.

The Alliance power outages caused by the windstorm Thursday morning damaged the traffic lights at one of Alliance’s busiest intersections … 10th and Box Butte.

City Manager J.D. Cox says the lights will be in a flashing red mode for at least a week … thus creating a four-way stop.

“Once the equipment is replaced the intersection will have the approriate traffic control,” he said.  “We ask drivers to exercise caution at that intersection.”

Wind gusts were recorded at the Alliance Airport as strong as 69 mph Thursday.