Smoke could well be flying across the Flint Hills into early next week.
High temperatures in the 60s and 70s this week and upcoming weekend are certainly melting the snow that has seemingly been locked in place since early January. With the stubborn snowfall the last few weeks, the area controlled burn season hasn’t started yet — unlike years past, where landowners often had burns underway or done by mid-January.
Lyon County Emergency Management Director Jarrod Fell says residents need to report their burns to county authorities, both before and after those burns are done. The easiest way is to go to the Lyon County website, lyoncountyks.gov, find the Online Burn Procedures button at the top of the page, click the “Report a burn” link” and proceed from there.
Fell also urges people to have enough water on hand, just in case things don’t go as planned.
Fell reminds residents never to burn whenever the National Weather Service issues red flag warnings — the official alerts for critical fire danger. Speaking of the weather, Fell says landowners must pay attention to the weather forecast for post-burn conditions as a way to reduce the rekindle risk.
While grasses are drying rapidly, the ground underneath could well be muddy for several days, meaning firefighters may have to deal with stuck equipment if they need to get called out.
