very high fire danger remains areawide Friday after critical fire danger Thursday.
Vegetation remains cured and afternoon relative humidity levels will be between 20-30 percent. Wind gusts will be as high as 30-35 mph.
National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Wolters says we won’t have a low-pressure system aggravating what’s called the pressure gradient, which brought strong mid-level winds down to the surface for much of the afternoon Thursday, but other conditions will keep the fire danger elevated.
Lyon County Emergency Management Director Jarrod Fell is asking landowners to pay attention and be careful Friday.
Peak wind gusts Friday will be strong, but they will be at half-speed compared to Thursday. The Emporia Municipal Airport recorded a 71-mph gust and several between 60-70 mph during the afternoon. Salina had at least one gust up to 71 mph, while Russell had a 77-mph gust. Areawide, the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve had a 60-mph gust, Coffey County Airport had a gust up to 59 mph and Eureka Milliken Airport had a gust up to 56 mph.
Several small grass fires developed in Lyon County. Emporia Fire Capt. Willie Ward says a roughly 40-foot area burned at 934 Oxford Drive after a downed power line, while a grass fire developed at 604 Road 200 with minimal impact.
Power outages were numerous but scattered and mostly small-scale through the afternoon. Allen had over 150 Evergy customers offline for part of the afternoon. Travel was also difficult, especially for semis and other high-profile vehicles. The Kansas Turnpike reported several semi crashes in Lyon and Chase counties, but only one that involved a wind-related tip-over and none involving injuries.
Due to the conditions, much of Kansas, including all area counties, were under red flag warning and automatic burn ban Thursday. That has lifted, but several area counties remain in burn bans. Chase County’s ban, announced Tuesday, has been extended to Saturday morning. Coffey County is in a burn ban until further notice. Osage County was in a county-specific burn ban Thursday but that has expired.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has issued a state of disaster emergency for wildland fire danger, thus allowing the state to move extra resources to affected areas. The declaration was developed with Thursday’s fire danger in mind but will continue for 15 days or into early January.
If you have wind damage reports and/or photos, message the KVOE Bluestem Farm and Ranch Supply text line at 620-342-5863.
