Grass fires haven’t been numerous across the KVOE listening area with extreme fire danger continuing into the evening hours, and in most cases they have been minor.
That has not been the case in central Greenwood County, where a grass fire developed about 250th and R Road, about a mile south of Hamilton, around 1 pm and pushed south to the area of Kansas Highway 99 and 210th Road by 4 pm. The National Weather Service Wichita office says there are “numerous” fire divisions from multiple counties helping with the blaze. Details are pending from the Greenwood County Emergency Management Department.
Elsewhere, Emporia firefighters stopped a rekindle before it got into some grass near town. Emporia Fire Battalion Chief Ryan Conley says the fire in the 1700 block of Road 175 started as a planned log fire Wednesday before it rekindled Thursday. The fire was limited to the logs.
In Chase County, a small four-acre grass fire developed outside Matfield Green. Details about that incident are pending from the Chase County Fire Department, but Fire Chief Steve Fillmore says there are some indications of suspicious activity. There were no injuries.
A red flag warning continues until 6 pm for Lyon and all surrounding counties. Most area counties, including Lyon County, have burn bans posted during the alert, but Osage County has a ban continuing until 8 am Friday.
Friday should be a much calmer day, but gusty winds and dry conditions are expected both Saturday and Sunday, leading to the prospect of very high to extreme fire danger for the weekend. We’ll keep you updated on KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media.
