Crews gain upper hand, contain grass fires in Kingman County, across Kansas

KINGMAN COUNTY, Kan. (KWCH) - Monday night recap: The largest fire of the day, burning about 1,500 acres in Kingman County is under control but crews remain in the area to make sure it doesn’t rekindle. Firefighters from several departments in Kingman and Reno counites battled the fire for hours as it jumped roads and moved north.

7 p.m. Strong winds continue to pose significant challenges for fire crews across the state, but as of 7 p.m., there are no reports of injuries nor widespread damage. In the fire that began Monday afternoon in Kingman County, crews gained the upper hand, but scenes are still active as the effort to contain and ultimately extinguish the fire continues.

As of about 6 p.m., Riley County Fire District #1 reported that crews were able to contain a fire that had burned 300-400 acres and threatened several homes. Crews remained on scene to mop up and monitor hotspots.

5:50 p.m. Sedgwick County firefighters are now battling a fire at 85th and 127th.

Dispatchers said about 10 acres of land are involved and six units are on the scene.

3:25 p.m. Firefighters from multiple counties are battling a grass fire in Kingman County.

The Reno County Emergency Management confirms that the fire started near US-54 at 110th Ave. There has also been a request for mutual aid from surrounding counties.

While the fire originated in Kingman County, the fire is moving north. The elevated fire danger can be attributed to strong winds out of the south.

3:10 p.m. The Riley County Police Department said more than 16 homes were threatened but none were lost in the southern part of the county. The fire started in the median of Highway 177 near Deep Creek Road on Monday. It spread quickly to surrounding areas and burned about 300-400 acres.

The Kansas Forest Service contracted aircraft are making water drops coordinated by personnel on scene.

The Riley County Board of Commissioners declared a local disaster emergency for the county, activating disaster emergency plans to fight the fires along Deep Creek Road.

“The scale and scope of these fires threatened to cause wide-spread, severe damage, injury, and potential loss of life in disaster proportion. A disaster declaration activates the rendering of available aid and evacuation procedures should that become necessary,” said Riley County Fire District #1 in a post on Facebook.

Riley County Commission Vice-Chair John Ford said the disaster declaration gives the county the best opportunity to fight this fire and the best tools to keep everyone safe.

“I’m very appreciative of the people out fighting this fire and glad we’re getting it under control,” he said.

As of 2:40 p.m., the fire was 75% contained.

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