High winds wreak havoc throughout county
Staff writers
Wind gusts of up to 62 mph Friday created not only a red flag fire hazard but also kept firefighters, law enforcement, and ambulances busy responding to five semitrailer trucks that rolled onto their sides.
Wrecks
A wind-buffeted semi rolled onto its side at 1:53 p.m. at US-50 near Pawnee Rd.
Peabody firefighters pulled the semi off the road. Marion ambulance also responded, but the driver declined to be taken to a hospital.
Five minutes later, at 1:58 p.m., another semi rolled onto its side at Nighthawk Rd. and US-56.
The cab of the truck landed off the south side of the highway, and its trailer blocked both lanes of the highway.
Marion firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, and Hillsboro ambulance responded along with Kansas Department of Transportation.
The driver declined to be taken to a hospital, but the highway was shut down until 3:03 p.m. after a towing company cleared the truck.
Five minutes after that, at 2:03 p.m., Hillsboro firefighters and first responders were sent to another semi wreck.
They were sent to K-15 north of US-56, but the wreck was found to be at US-56 and Goldenrod Rd.
Tampa ambulance, which had been ordered to stand by near Canada in case of additional calls, was redirected to the wreck.
The driver declined to be taken to a hospital.
Half an hour later, at 2:30 p.m., Marion firefighters were sent to another semi that rolled onto its side on K-150 east of Clover Rd.
Hillsboro ambulance was redirected to the wreck because the driver had pain in his shoulder, neck and head.
The severity of the driver’s injuries was upgraded at 3:10 p.m., but ambulance attendants told dispatchers they were having trouble getting to the wreck. Marion ambulance was dispatched instead. It arrived at 3:21 p.m. and at 3:55 p.m. took the driver to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
Just 10 minutes after the wreck, another semi rolled onto its side on K-150 near Yarrow Rd. That wreck was handled by Kansas Highway Patrol.
K-150 reopened at 4 p.m.
The best thing to do when driving in high wind is to go slow, emergency manager Marcy Hostetler said. Taking a county road also is a good idea, she said.
“You can take a back road going 25 mph, and you have tree rows helping block the wind,” Hostetler said.
Fires
Despite Friday’s red flag fire warning and a declared burn ban, firefighters had to respond to several fires, some of them deliberately set.
Knowing a burn ban would be in effect Friday, Hillsboro firefighters drove around Thursday to check sites of previous controlled burns.
They were called to Friday’s first fire at 1:26 p.m. and made short work of extinguishing a small, unattended burning brush pile in an alley in the 300 block of S. Birch St. They asked police to respond as well.
Hillsboro, Peabody, Lehigh, and Goessel firefighters were called at 2:48 p.m. to a grass fire on Diamond Rd. south of US-56.
Hillsboro firefighters extinguished the fire within 30 minutes and had dispatchers tell the other departments they would not be needed.
At 10:01 p.m. and 10:27 p.m., Peabody firefighters extinguished a backyard bonfire in the 200 block of N. Pine St. and a larger backyard bonfire in the 400 block of Sycamore St. They also asked that law enforcement be notified.
“I don’t think people understand what it means when I send out a ‘red flag,’ ” Hostetler said. “We were at catastrophic level on Friday.”
No fires were reported Saturday, but Hillsboro firefighters were sent at 4:12 p.m. Sunday to a controlled grass fire that got out of control near US-56 at the Marion / McPherson county line.
Canton firefighters canceled the call before Hillsboro firefighters arrived, however, at 8:10 p.m., Hillsboro firefighters returned to the scene and spent an hour and a quarter putting out burning brush.
Marion firefighters were summoned at 9:02 p.m. to a burning brush pile on Sunrise Rd. north of US-56. They extinguished the fire within 30 minutes and said they would return Monday morning to check on it.