County at high risk for fire this weekend

A map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows much of the county in a state of extreme drought. The dry plant life and high winds are expected to create a large risk of grass fires this Sunday.

By Adam Strunk

Don’t burn anything, watch for sparks and when in doubt, call 911.
That was the advice of Harvey County Emergency Management Director Mike Anderson as the governor’s office declared a state of emergency for Kansas with high grass fire dangers looming this weekend.
Anderson said, locally, Harvey County faces a high risk of brush fires, especially on Sunday.
“We have a front coming through that will generate some high winds,” he said. “We may see some [wind] peaks as high as 45 miles an hour on Sunday.”
Those winds have the ability to quickly spread flames, especially when vegetation is dry.
Anderson said, currently, 100 percent of the county is in drought conditions. Ninety-nine percent is in severe drought, and 50 percent is in extreme drought.
Since July, Newton has received 5.76 inches of rain. That’s more than seven fewer inches of rain than normal for the time period, according to the National Weather Service.
Anderson added that with the hard freeze the county received earlier in the week, plants would continue to die off and dry out further.
“We’ve been continuously monitoring weather and fire forecasts,” he said. “We’re in close communication with fire and EMS chiefs. We’re in close communication with the National Weather Service.”
He said that fires pose an obvious risk but also represent a massive drain on resources for local responders to control. As for what areas are at risk in the county, Anderson said the danger was pretty widespread.
“Out west is always a concern,” he said. “Because the entire county is in drought conditions, I think we are equally vulnerable throughout the county.”
As for what regular people can do, he said first off, they should avoid open flames. He said the county is not currently approving any controlled burns. He added that people should follow Harvey County Emergency Management for updates on Facebook or Twitter. And he said people should keep their eyes open for threats.
“When in doubt, call 911,” he said.

0 replies on “County at high risk for fire this weekend”