Saturday’s critical fire danger manifested with several grass fires scattered across the KVOE listening area.
Emporia and other Lyon County departments spent close to six straight hours battling grass fires. A grass fire was reported in the 1700 block of Road 170. Before crews finished at that location, they were dispatched to the 2600 block of M — and as crews were battling the Road M fire, some had to go to the 3000 block of West 30th for a third fire.
No structural damage was reported. Emporia Fire says all three fires were rekindles from several days earlier.
Elsewhere across the area:
*Wabaunsee County had several grass fires — enough to issue a local disaster declaration, according to a news release from the Kansas Adjutant General’s Office. Wabaunsee County Emergency Dispatch has been unavailable to update the county’s situation.
*Coffey County noted one rekindle with no structural damage.
*Greenwood County had several grass fires, but no structural damage was reported with any of the blazes that developed.
A more serious situation developed in Reno and Harvey counties, where gras fire activity forced a number of evacuations and the establishment of a shelter in Hutchinson. The Kansas Department of Transportation also asked the Federal Aviation Administration to close airspace over those two counties to let aircraft help with fire suppression efforts.
Wind gusts in the 45-50 mph range combined with relative humidity levels under 20 percent and dry grasses to set the table for the extreme fire conditions Saturday. The fire danger drops noticeably Sunday as rain chances develop by late afternoon. Rain could change to snow before midnight. Under an inch of snowfall is possible.
2:30 pm Saturday: Listening area reporting relatively quiet day as critical fire danger continues
Though activity has been low to non-existent through the early morning and noon hours, critical fire danger remains a prevalent concern across the KVOE listening area Saturday.
Red Flag Warnings remain in place across the area affecting Lyon, Coffey, Morris, Osage and Wabaunsee counties until 7 pm with a separate warning affecting Chase and Greenwood counties until 8 pm. The warnings come due to critical fire danger as a result of temperatures in the upper 70s, dry grasses, low humidity and wind gusts as high as 45 mph possible throughout the day.
Speaking of high winds, a wind advisory continues for Lyon, Chase, Coffey, Greenwood and Morris counties until 6 pm. The listening area did see some minor rainfall in the early morning hours Saturday, however, little to no accumulation occurred as a result.
As of 3 pm, little fire-related activity has been reported in Lyon or any surrounding counties aside from a minor timber fire that developed in the 2400 block of Road W near Reading roughly 18 miles northeast of Emporia just after 1:40 pm. According to Reading Fire Chief Scott Wilkerson, a “group of kids” were reportely playing with a lighter in the area and accidentally caught a patch of timber on fire.
Wilkerson says the kids tried to put the fire out prior to the fire department’s arrival and fire crews extinguished it fully once on scene. No injuries were reported and the fire did not spread past the patch of timber.
Residents are reminded that burn bans are in effect across the area throughout the day, mainly due to the Red Flag Warnings, however, Chase and Wabaunsee counties are in separate burn bans through Sunday at the earliest.
Storm activity is still possible across the area between noon and 5 pm with scattered showers and thunderstorms possible, however, the likelihood of storms becoming severe is highly unlikely based on the latest projection models.
Temperatures will be significantly cooler Sunday with highs forecasted in the low 50’s and a possibility of freezing rain and snowfall Sunday night into early Monday morning.
Be sure to stay with KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media for more weather updates as they become available.
7am Saturday: WEATHER: Red Flag Warnings up across KVOE listening area
Burning will not be permitted throughout the KVOE listening area Saturday due to extreme fire danger in the forecast.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for Chase and Greenwood counties from 10 am to 8 pm Saturday while Lyon, Coffey, Morris, Osage and Wabaunsee counties are in a separate warning from 10 am to 7 pm. The red flag warnings signal critical fire danger, as borne out by a combination of temperatures in the mid-70s, dry grasses, low humidity levels and high winds.
It also sets up a burn ban for all affected counties aside from Chase County which is already in a burn ban through Sunday. The fire danger will not subside even with chances of rain showers and thunderstorms Saturday afternoon.
The latest weather projections are calling for isolated showers across the area before noon with a chance of more isolated showers and scattered thunderstorms between noon and 5 pm. Severe weather activity will stay east of the listening area past Topeka and will be centered mainly in the Kansas City metro area and beyond.
While severe weather activity is not expected, high winds will be a concern throughout the day with southwesterly gusts as high as 40 mph expected. A wind advisory is in effect for Lyon, Chase, Coffey, Greenwood and Morris counties from 10 am to 6 pm.
Stay with KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media for updates.
