A longtime locally owned restaurant in McCook is a complete loss after a fire broke out Saturday evening.

Firefighters were called to Fuller’s Family Restaurant around 8:40 PM.

Employees attempted to control the fire with extinguishers prior to the fire department’s arrival, but to no avail.

Authorities say when firefighters arrived, the structure was fully engulfed and they were unable to get the blaze under control before significant and devastating damage was sustained.

Neighboring businesses suffered smoke damage from the fire.

McCook Fire officials say the fire appeared to have started in a cooler in the restaurant that was under repair.

No injuries were reported, but the heat was so intense that firefighters had to get out of the building and only fight the blaze from the outside.

Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. Both continued to fight the fire after treatment.

Fuller’s opened in McCook in 1946.

• Today: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8am, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Light and variable wind becoming east northeast 8 to 13 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9pm. Mostly clear, with a low around 60. East wind 7 to 10 mph.
• Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
• Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 59. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light south southeast after midnight.

(AP) — An aerial tanker designed to fight wildfires has landed in Nebraska.

The Nebraska Forest Service says the single-engine airplane arrived in Valentine on Monday. The plane will remain in the area under a contract with the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.

The plane was part of the Wildfire Control Act, a state law that passed this year in the wake of massive wildfires in remote parts of Nebraska. The plane will mostly operate out of bases in Valentine, Alliance and Chadron.

State Forester Scott Josiah has said he expects Nebraska to have larger and more intense “mega-fires,” because heat, drought and climate change, as well as the spread of the highly flammable eastern red cedar tree.

(AP) — A Utah ranch expert is scheduled to address the Nebraska Grazing Conference in Kearney next month.

Burke Teichert, a former Rex Ranch manager from Orem, Utah, will discuss key indicators of ranch efficiencies and resource management and monitoring.

The conference is scheduled for Aug. 13-14 at the Holiday Inn in Kearney.

Registration costs $80 if postmarked by Aug. 1 and $95 afterward. One-day registrations also are available and walk-ins are welcome.

More information is available at https://nebraskagrazingconference.unl.edu, or from the UNL Center for Grassland Studies at 402-472-4101, email grassland@unl.edu, or your local UNL extension office.

(AP) — The state may lose the chance to buy an airplane from the University of Nebraska Foundation while officials study what kind of plane is needed.

The foundation recently put its Beechcraft Super King Air airplane up for sale on the open market. Earlier this year, state lawmakers objected to the governor’s plan to buy the plane.

Before spending more than $2 million on the foundation’s used plane lawmakers wanted to study what type of plane would be most cost-effective for the state.

Gov. Dave Heineman and agency officials had been using the Foundation’s plane through a lease agreement.

Omaha Sen. Bob Krist says the state owes it to taxpayers to demonstrate the Foundation’s plan is the best option.