With annual burn restrictions now in place across the Flint Hills, Kansas Flint Hills Smoke Management says burn acreage numbers have increased considerably from its last report.
For the report announced March 14, there were almost 6,400 acres burned across Lyon and surrounding counties, including 1,700 acres in Lyon County and almost 2,000 acres in Osage County. For the reporting period ending March 20, Lyon County is now up to over 4,400 acres, including a destructive five-mile grass fire that originated northwest of Neosho Rapids and moved east towards Reading on March 14. Other area counties:
*Chase County: 819 acres
*Coffey County: 1,375 acres
*Greenwood County: 1,174 acres
*Morris County: 1,081 acres
*Osage County: 2,656 acres
*Wabaunsee County: 5,992 acres
This means nearly 17,500 acres has been burned areawide this season.
Annual burn restrictions begin Tuesday. They allow for controlled pasture burns, ceremonial fires and grilling but ban controlled burns of debris piles, crop residue and construction waste.
More information about the Smoke Management Plan is available at ksfire.org.
