OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Latest on wildfires burning in Kansas and Oklahoma …all times local):
4:50 p.m.
Kansas authorities say wildfires in several Kansas counties have been largely contained.
The Kansas Adjutant General’s office said in an emailed statement Wednesday that the fires in the northeast Kansas counties of Wabaunsee, Geary, Riley and Pottawatomie are for the most part contained. The office says crews continue to monitor small smoldering patches in the region.
The office also says a grass fire in Morton County in southwest Kansas has been contained with the exception of hot spots.
The grassfire in northern Oklahoma is also no longer threatening Comanche County, Kansas.
The adjutant general’s office also says the State Emergency Operations Center in Topeka has returned to normal operations but is maintaining contact with local officials in the affected counties.
11:45 a.m.
More than 18 square miles of rangeland has burned in the latest Kansas wildfires.
Ben Bauman, spokesman for the Kansas Adjutant General’s Office, says two homes, one mobile home and at least eight outbuildings were destroyed Tuesday. Residents of several rural communities were urged to leave their homes before the blazes were brought mostly under control.
No injuries have been reported.
In northern Kansas, fires burned about 6,000 acres in Geary County, about 600 acres in Wabaunsee County and more than 1,500 acres in Riley County. Another 3,800 acres burned in Morton County in extreme southwest Kansas.
The blazes come less than a month after a fire that started in Oklahoma and spread into Kansas, burning hundreds of square miles. Most of the damage was in Kansas’ Barber County.
9 a.m.
Crews are fighting wildfires in northern Kansas, where forecasters are warning of dangerous fire conditions.
Riley County emergency management director Pat Collins says embers from an approximately 300-acre fire started by fence welders destroyed a mobile home. Collins says crews are also battling a 1,000-acre blaze and a third fire that has burned several hundred acres elsewhere in Riley County.
In nearby Geary County, a fire that burned 6,000 acres of mostly pastureland Tuesday is under control. Assistant Geary County emergency manager Curt Janke says no homes burned.
Crews also have been fighting wildfires in Morton County in the southwest of the state and Wabaunsee County in the north, while keeping an eye on a large Oklahoma blaze to make sure it doesn’t cross into Kansas.
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RILEY COUNTY -The fire outbreak in Northeast Kansas has been largely contained, according to local officials.
Wabaunsee County authorities report approximately 600 acres were burned near the town of Alma. The fire is 75 percent contained as of 10 p.m.
Local fire officials have released the mutual aid responders from nearby counties and continue to monitor flare-ups. One house and one outbuilding are reported destroyed.
Riley County officials report 400-500 acres burned in the vicinity of Marlatt and U.S. 24, where approximately 100-150 residents were evacuated from a mobile home park. One mobile home was destroyed by fire. A shelter was opened in Cico Park in Manhattan.
Geary County officials report approximately 6,000 acres burned. The fire is 95 percent contained. No structures were lost.
A large grassfire destroyed one home and seven to eight outbuildings in the community of Wilburton in Morton County. The fire burned approximately 3,800 acres and is 95 percent contained.
Due to a shift in prevailing winds, a grassfire in Oklahoma is no longer threatening Comanche County, Kansas.
Six wildfires occurred in Pottawatomie County, burning an unknown amount of acreage. One garage was damaged, but officials are not certain the damage was related to the wildfire.