Smokey here

We were inundated by smoke last evening - quite thick. Fortunately, the wind shifted to blow it away from us within about 20 minutes. It turned out that the fire is about 40 or 50 miles SSW of us.

It is March in Kansas - meaning sustained and gusty high winds. The winds, of course, are no respecters of state lines. A wildfire that started in Oklahoma, blew into Kansas. It is currently being reported that more than 169,000 acres (about 264 square miles or about 4050 square meters) have burned.

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) -- Governor Sam Brownback has declared a State of Disaster Emergency for an area of south-central Kansas threatened by major wildfires.

A wildfire that began in Oklahoma on Tuesday spread into Kansas and burned more than 169,000 acres.

A statement from the Kansas Adjutant General's office early Thursday declared the fire "under control" in Comanche County, but not yet in Barber County. It added voluntary evacuations have ended in the Lake City and Sun City communities.

Barber County's sheriff earlier called for voluntary evacuations in Sun City and Medicine Lodge. But the Adjutant General says the fire "went around the town on the north and south sides" of Medicine Lodge.

U.S. 160 reopened Thursday morning between Coldwater and Sun City Road in Barber County, after being closed all day Wednesday.

The Kansas Adjutant General's Office said two houses on the north edge of Medicine Lodge have been destroyed by the fire, and "the remaining 800 to 1000 homes and business structures are in danger."

American Red Cross shelters have been established to support Barber County, should they be needed. It is at 619 North Main in Pratt. A second shelter will be established at Chaparral High School at 467 KS Highway 2 in Harper County, but it was not yet open as of 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Medicine Lodge Hospital was also evacuated as fires continued racing through the county. Staff and patients relocated to Harper County.

Update of 3/24/2016 1915GMT -

Latest report is that over 400,000 acres have burned.

 

Update of 3/25/2016 2130GMT -

Kansas Forest Service: Wildfire Is Largest in State

By The Associated Press

MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. — Mar 25, 2016, 4:32 PM ET

 

Though some progress has been made to contain it, the persistent wildfire that spread north from rural Oklahoma into a sparsely populated section of Kansas is the largest one in Kansas history, officials said Friday.

At least 620 square miles of land in Oklahoma and southern Kansas have been scorched in the fire, which started Tuesday. It destroyed at least one home in Kansas, but no serious injuries have been reported.

...

A separate grass fire that hit near the Kansas town of Burrton, which is about 30 miles northwest of Wichita, burned about 22 square miles before it was controlled Thursday. One home was destroyed and several head of livestock were killed.

The St Louis Post Dispatch reported, yesterday, that the smoke had reached St Louis MO.

 

Comments

[Joared]

Oh wow! That's a sizeable fire. I haven't heard anything in the news about it which I find surprising, especially given the threat, some destruction, to life and property. I hope it gets under control soon.

[Ole Phat Stu]

Have some of our rain. Please!

[Hattie]

Smoke pollution is the worst. Hope it is not affecting you too badly.
A firebug has been setting brushfires on the other side of the island, and when the wind comes from that direction it can be unpleasant in Hilo. Today there is a lighting-set fire, and a mixture of rain and smoke are bothering us now. This a.m. was bad with volcanic emission pollution, what we call vog.
Most of the time the air is good here in Hawaii, but we do get these things. And where I come from originally, in California, wildfires are common. In the old days, though, they were only in the fall; now they seem to be any time of the year.

[Cop Car]

Joared--I agree on the size. I've seen lots of range fires (deliberately set) cloud over the Interstates so that everyone pulls off onto the shoulder for a while, and I've been involved (as a volunteer) in wildfires in Kansas and California, but this one really had me concerned for a few hours.

Stu--I'll take it!

Hattie--No, fortunately, smoke and smog don't bother my lungs. I hate the smell, but have no health issues. Most of our fires are started either deliberately to burn off prairie or by carelessness, as in throwing lit cigarette butts out of vehicle windows. I've not yet heard anything about a cause on this one. With winds what they've been, it would not have taken much!

[bogie]

I have been watching it on the news and via FB (Ex-SIL there in your town has posted some stuff). Hope you get rain and calm winds to help get it under control.

[Cop Car]

Bogie--Your Ex-SIL does better at keeping you posted than do I, thankfully! The winds did die down, somewhat, yesterday and they calmed overnight. I don't know if they received snow down where the fires have been burning.

Hattie--I worked the wild fires in California in October 2007. Of course, I only saw the fires from the air. My duty stations were in Oakland (for a few hours) and Pasadena.