A wildfire burned 9,000 acres in Sioux County after sparking Tuesday afternoon and burning through the night.

The fire is just outside of Fort Robinson State Park and is so far not contained, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Governor Jim Pillen ordered state National Guard troops to assist emergency personnel in fighting the fire Tuesday evening. In a news release, Pillen said the U.S. Forest Service is also sending assistance.

“The terrain in that area is extremely rugged, and windy conditions are compounding the challenge,” Pillen said in the release. “Please keep our firefighters and responders in your prayers as they continue a tough and dangerous fight through the night.”

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Local news outlets reported evacuation orders for Smiley Canyon along White River Road. Nebraska Highway 20 between Fort Robinson and Harrison was closed due to the fire. The stretch remained closed as of Wednesday afternoon, according to 511 Nebraska.

The Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands office announced the fire at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, naming it the South Fork Fire. Local forest service and volunteer firefighters responded and requested air support. At the time, the fire was only 500 acres. About three hours later, the department warned that the fire was rapidly growing and had spread across Highway 20. Managers requested an incident management team.

The National Weather Service in Cheyenne, Wyoming, listed the area as being under a Red Flag warning from Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday evening with southwest gusts expected over 50 mph and humidity levels of 15% or less. While the cause of the fire is unknown, local outlets reported lightning strikes in the area Tuesday night.

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Pillen was in Oshkosh in western Nebraska on Tuesday to meet with local officials and learn about the lasting impact of historic regional wildfires in March and April. He followed up the meetings with a request for a disaster designation from the USDA. The designation, if approved, would cover Garden, Grant, Lincoln and Morrill counties, opening up direct avenues for assistance for producers in the area. More than 850,000 acres were burned in the region this spring. According to the news release, more than 60% of all grassland in Garden County was destroyed.

The request is in addition to Pillen asking President Donald Trump for a disaster declaration in May. If approved, that declaration would bring funding for roads, bridges and power infrastructure.

Pillen said in the release that the fires destroyed land used for cow-calf grazing and has left producers with low-nutrient winter pastures and feed shortages that threaten their herds.

This story was originally published by Nebraska Public Media News, a network of local reporters working with a National Public Radio station based in Lincoln.