MCPHERSON – Over a dozen rural grass fires have been reported across central Kansas this week.
The largest fire this week was reported at Sioux Road and 2nd Avenue in McPherson County on Wednesday afternoon.
Marquette Fire Chief Kerry Linder said the controlled burn that got away was one of the biggest he has seen in his twenty years.
“A farmer told me they estimated this fire burned over 2000 acres and was over four-miles long and a mile wide,” he said.
Ten fire companies from across several counties responded to the fire.
“The fire burned toward the southwest and even burned into Ellsworth County,” Linder said.
“Our area of McPherson County called a burn ban after this one. We needed some time to get things cleaned up and reorganized,” he said.
Some counties wait for red flag warnings issued by the National Weather Service before they issue a burn ban. In McPherson, the fire district has authority to announce a ban.
This week the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Kansas Interagency Wildfire Council offered the following tips and best practices to help ensure a burn doesn’t become a wildfire:
Know all state and local fire restrictions. Check with county officials who are charged with deciding whether burning is permissible based on local conditions.
Notify neighbors as a courtesy prior to burning.
Postpone the burn if unsure of the fuel and weather conditions.
Have adequate resources and equipment available to prevent escaped fires.
Consider smoke management to avoid unsafe roads and air quality conditions.
Do not burn to the ends of the field. Setting boundaries, “back burning” and keeping the fire off of fence rows will prevent out-of-control burns.
Kansas experienced a significant increase in acres burned between 2013 and 2014. Total acres burned rose from 22,482 in 2013 to 184,716 in 2014 – more than 8 times as many field burns in just one year.