Fire crews battle 7 blazes
3 of them overlap
Staff writer
High risk fire days were no joke this past week as county firefighters battled seven fires.
Of four fires Thursday, three overlapped, so firefighters went from one to the next.
A power pole at the edge of a soybean field at 280th and Indigo Rd. was struck by lightning Oct. 22 and started a fire.
Durham and Tampa firefighters spent an hour extinguishing the blaze but had to return Thursday when the fire rekindled.
Thursday was a high-risk day.
At 2:51 p.m., Goessel, Hillsboro, Lincolnville, Marion, Hesston, Moundridge, Peabody, and Ramona firefighters were summoned to a fire in a stubble field and hedge row near 90th and Alamo Rds. They spent more than two hours battling the blaze.
State Fire Marshal Mark Engholm, who was in the area, grabbed a fire rake and helped out.
That fire had been caused by the remnants of a previous burn that rekindled, emergency manager Marcy Hostetler said.
As many firefighters were returning from that fire, Durham, Hillsboro, and Marion firefighters were sent to a smaller fire in a soybean field at 190th and Jade Rds near Hillsboro.
That fire was extinguished within half an hour, but firefighters then were sent to a Chase County grass fire at 5:40 p.m.
Marion County firefighters were called for help fighting that fire as it neared, then jumped, across K-150 in Chase County. Florence, Goessel, Herington, Hillsboro, Lincolnville, Marion, Ramona, and Tampa firefighters spent more than two hours battling the grass fire.
Hostetler said the Chase County fire was started by a combine.
At 1:32 p.m. Friday, Ramona firefighters were sent to help Herington and Hope firefighters battle a blaze near 210th St. and Quail Rd. in Dickinson County.
Then, at 11:46 p.m. Friday, Peabody firefighters were called by a sheriff’s deputy to put out a fire in the 200 block of S. Olive St. that apparently started as an unauthorized trash fire. Firefighters had the fire out within half an hour.
Hostetler praised the hard work of county firefighters through the week.
“We’ve got a wonderful crew that go out and fight these fires,” Hostetler said. “This is not their full-time job. This is what they do to help their communities.”
She also thanked everybody who was extra observant during high-risk days, people who held off burning, and people who double-checked trailers before they drive.
“We appreciate everything that everyone is doing,” Hostetler said.
Many things can touch off a fire when conditions are right.
“If you see smoke, call it in,” Hostetler said.
Every fire department in the county fought fires last week, either as part of a fire task force or fighting a fire in their area.
Police chiefs as well as deputies helped with traffic control, and Ag Services brought tanker trucks full of water to refill fire tankers.
Hostetler said low humidity,, high winds, high fuel load, and recent water conditions combine to make fire risk high.
“For example, we haven’t had a heavy rain for several days, so the moisture content of the ground is low,” she said.
On Monday, smoke from wildfires tracked from north of Omaha to central Texas, with several wildfires burning in Oklahoma. Nearly every county in central Kansas had smoke drifting in the atmosphere.
Meteorologist Andy Kleinsasser at the National Weather Service said Monday’s 90 -egree temperature in Wichita was the city’s latest 90 degree day in recorded weather history.
Winds were so strong Monday there was sufficient dirt blowing to appear to be overcast clouds, he said.
“It’s an extremely windy and warm pattern we’re in,” Kleinsasser said. “Normal highs this time of year are in the mid- 60s. Warm temperatures, strong winds — that just creates a perfect storm for grass fires.”