Fire crews worked through the night to stop a grass fire in NE Wichita

Fire crews worked through the night to put out hot spots and monitoring for any fires that might rekindle after a grass fire that started Thursday burned roughly 300 acres in northeast Wichita.

Fire crews remained on the scene Friday.

All the roads that were closed during the fire have been reopened, Wichita battalion chief Jose Ocadiz said Friday morning.

There were no reports of any injuries, he said. A Sedgwick County spokesperson said some abandoned structures burned but the property owner didn’t care about them.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The fire was reported at 3:12 p.m. Thursday just north of just north of the Stryker Sports Complex, which is at 29th and Greenwich. Winds around that time were in the 30s with a high gust of around 40 mph, weather records show.

“The fire grew rapidly and quickly began igniting several trees in its path,” Ocadiz said. “The fire was driven by high winds and fueled by extremely dry vegetation.”

A Kansas Forest Service plane was called in to help drop water on the flames, Ocadiz said. Fire crews refilled the plane with water from a hydrant at Jabara Airport.

Residents in the Brookfield neighborhood near 37th and Greenwich did a self evacuation but weren’t mandated to, he said.

The fire was brought “under control” around 6:45 p.m., he said.

Nine agencies assisted in helping with the fire.

This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 9:59 AM.