Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Tag: Kansas

Kansas landowner dies while conducting controlled burn

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags ,
March 4, 2021 fire fatality in Kansas
The arrow points to the approximate location of the March 4, 2021 fatality in Kansas.

A report has surfaced showing that a property owner died while conducting a controlled burn on their property in Kansas.

It occurred March 4, 2021 on the “1400 and Julinn Road Fire” in Linn County about 8 miles north-northwest of Mound City.

An Incident Status Summary, ICS-209, for the fire completed March 15, 2021 shows that a report from the local Fire Department did not indicate if the person was killed directly by the fire or if there was a medical incident that led to the fatality.

Preliminary information from the Office of the Kansas State Fire Marshal said, “The victim was badly burned in the fire, and it was believed that he was [conducting the controlled burn], and the fire over took him…When he started the burning, winds were calm.  They then [increased] with gusts to 24 MPH.”

The victim was found about two feet away from a shovel.

The weather at the time, according to the ICS-209, was 69 degrees, relative humidity 25 percent, with winds out of the southwest at 15 to 20 mph.  The fire was burning in grass.

The name of the victim has not been released and the autopsy report has not been completed.

Homes burn as several large fires break out in Kansas

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 1 Comment on Homes burn as several large fires break out in Kansas

Strong winds and low humidities created difficult conditions for firefighters

Map of a wildfire southeast of Florence, Kansas
Map of a wildfire southeast of Florence, Kansas detected by satellites at 3:35 p.m. CST March 10, 2021.

The passage of a cold front in Kansas on Wednesday with winds gusting at more than 40 mph and relative humidity in the teens created conditions that firefighters and ranchers dread — several large fires broke out. There are reports that a 7,000-acre blaze southeast of Florence led to evacuations and the destruction of homes.

Other large fires occurred northeast of Washington, southeast of Marysville, north of Morrill, east of Clay Center, and northwest of Concordia.

A vintage S-2 air tanker powered by a radial engine was activated to assist firefighters on the ground. Tanker 95 was formerly operated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection but is now privately owned and under contract to the Kansas Forest Service. It was used Monday, and Wednesday it dropped water on at least two fires, one in Cloud County and another near Jamestown.

An S-2 air tanker drops water on a fire near Jamestown, KS
An S-2 air tanker drops water on a fire near Jamestown, KS March 10, 2021. Photo by Belleville FD.

In anticipation of the fire threat caused by the extreme winds and low humidity additional engines were brought in from South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado. This mobilization was facilitated by provisions in the Great Plains Interstate Fire Compact. Blackhawk helicopters operated by the Kansas National Guard have also been assisting firefighters by dropping water.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Matt.

A wildfire northwest of Topeka prompts evacuations at Delia

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 2 Comments on A wildfire northwest of Topeka prompts evacuations at Delia
map fire kansas St Marys Rossville
Map showing heat detected by satellites at the wildfire east of St Marys, Kansas at 1:54 p.m. CT, Nov. 18, 2020.

Firefighters in Kansas are battling a large wildfire that started about 17 miles northwest of Topeka, southeast of St Marys near highway 24. Strong winds out of the south-southwest have pushed the fire toward Delia which is under an evacuation order.

Smoke and poor visibility may have contributed to a vehicle collision on Highway 24 which injured one person and totaled the car.

At 1:54 p.m. Wednesday the fire had burned from Shawnee County into Jackson County.

An S-2 Air Tanker, T-95, is assisting firefighters by dropping water. Personnel from the Manhattan Fire Department have been refilling it at the airport.

Tanker 95 at Manhattan Airport in Kansas
Personnel from the Manhattan Fire Department refill Tanker 95 with water at the Manhattan Regional Airport in Kansas, November 18, 2020. The air tanker was assisting firefighters at the wildfire east of St Marys. Photo by the Fire Department.

The area is under a Red Flag Warning for strong winds and low humidity. Wednesday afternoon at St Marys the wind was out of the south-southwest at 20 to 24 mph gusting at 27 to 39 mph, with the relative humidity around 30 percent. The forecast is for breezy conditions to continue through Thursday but the humidity will rise into the 40s Thursday.

Wildfire Today’s very rough and unofficial estimate is that the fire had burned at least 1,000 acres at 1:54 p.m. CT, Nov. 18, 2020. KSNT reported it started just before 1 p.m.

Tanker 95 at Manhattan Airport in Kansas
Personnel from the Manhattan Fire Department refill Tanker 95 with water at the Manhattan Regional Airport in Kansas, November 18, 2020. The air tanker was assisting firefighters at the wildfire east of St Marys. Photo by the Fire Department.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Matt.

Fire burns 3,000 acres in Harvey County, Kansas

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 2 Comments on Fire burns 3,000 acres in Harvey County, Kansas

An S-2 air tanker was filmed dropping on the fire

Updated November 15, 2020   |    10:14 a.m. CT

Firefighters have stopped the spread of the fire near North Burmac Road east of Hutchinson, Kansas.

From KWCH:

(UPDATE: 4:40 a.m., Sunday) Crews on the scene of a wildfire in Harvey County now say the fire is contained. The fire chief on the scene tells us that fire has burned around 6,000-7,000 acres of land. Thankfully, aside from minor damage to an outbuilding – there hasn’t been any structure damage. Also, there are no reports of any injuries.

November 15, 2020   |    12:20 a.m. CT

map wildfire Harvey County Kansas air tanker
Map showing the location of a wildfire at 12:36 p.m. CT Nov. 14, 2020 soon after it started in northwest Harvey County, Kansas.

More than a dozen fire departments are fighting a wildfire in Kansas 10 miles east of Hutchinson. At 12:36 p.m. Saturday a satellite detected heat west of North Burmac Road south of the Little Arkansas River. Strong winds caused the fire to spread rapidly, crossing North Burmac Road.

KSCW TV reported at 9 p.m. that it had burned 3,000 acres in grass, cottonwood trees, and cedar trees.

The weather forecast calls for the strong winds to continue Saturday night out of the northwest at 14 to 21 mph gusting at 25 to 30 mph. On Sunday the wind will still be out of the northwest at 11 to 18 mph with gusts up to 28 mph, with relative humidity in the 20s.

A privately-owned air tanker, an S-2, was filmed dropping on the fire as the sun set Saturday evening. The aircraft is owned by Ag Air Service out of Nickerson, Kansas.

wildfire Harvey County Kansas air tanker
Air Tanker 95 drops on a wildfire in northwest Harvey County, Kansas. KSCW.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Matt.

Over 2 million acres burned in Flint Hills in 28 days

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , ,
map Flint Hills burning
Map showing heat detected by satellites during the last seven days. Updated at 1 p.m. CDT April 19, 2019.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) says the average annual acreage burned in the Flint Hills during the prescribed fire season was almost matched over the past month. Most of the burning is related to agriculture, improving pastures or preparing crop lands.

map flint hillsAlmost 2.1 million acres of grassland were treated with fire between March 15 and April 12. KDHE said roughly 2.5 million acres are burned annually.

The reporting time period includes 21 counties in Kansas and Oklahoma.

KDHE said burns from April 8-9 caused six air quality exceedances across parts of Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. There were no air quality exceedances due to burns last year.

acres burned county flint hills

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Matt. Typos or errors, report them HERE.

‘Catastrophic fire conditions’ possible today as Kansas blazes continue

Author Jason PohlPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags 6 Comments on ‘Catastrophic fire conditions’ possible today as Kansas blazes continue

Fires raced through grasslands in Kansas this week, drawing the National Guard, which captured this photo.

A series of wildfires have burned thousands of acres of grasslands in Kansas this week, and while relief might be in sight, there’s still a full day of volatile conditions ahead, officials say.

“Friday will be a very dangerous day for fire weather in many areas of the state. Some areas will see catastrophic fire weather conditions,” the Kansas Division of Emergency Management said.

Most of the state is under red flag or high wind warnings with forecast to gusts up to 40 mph in some areas Friday. Temperatures around 70 degrees are expected to drop into the 50s this weekend, with rain in the forecast, according to the National Weather Service.

Fires erupted Wednesday. Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer made an emergency declaration for three of the fires burning in Rice County and deployed Black Hawk helicopters from the Kansas National Guard to assist in the response.

According to The Wichita Eagle, state officials tracked 45 fires across the state on Thursday alone, with several breaking out in the Kansas City area. The fires burned an estimated 13,000 acres, and many remained active or out of control.

More detailed assessments of acreage or causes were not immediately available.

About 20 percent of the state is classified as being under an “extreme drought,” according to the latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor.