Winds fan flare-ups as crews battle fires in Harvey County

Fire crews from throughout central Kansas fought two fires northwest of Burrton in Harvey County on Thursday.

The two fires covered about 15 square miles combined, Harvey County spokeswoman Melissa Flavin said in a statement. Fire crews are focusing primarily on protecting residences and outbuildings.

“Winds continue to cause problems with flare-ups and flying sparks from the fires,” Flavin said Thursday. “As the winds continue through the evening hours and overnight, units will continue to monitor and adjust their approach accordingly.”

The fires were generally contained to the areas of 12th and Sand Hill Road and 24th and River Park Road, the Harvey County Sheriff’s Office reported on its Facebook page.

“The terrain in the sandhills is difficult to maneuver,’ Flavin said. “Fire units and responding vehicles continue getting stuck in the marshes and sand.”

Grass fires had burned a house on Sand Hill Road on Wednesday evening, authorities said. The homeowner was not there at the time. Several outbuildings also burned, and numerous livestock were lost.

While more than 100 firefighters battled flames overnight Wednesday, the force had been whittled to 24 units from 12 fire departments by Thursday afternoon, Flavin said.

Winds continued to cause problems with flare-ups and flying sparks. The fire units planned to monitor the fires throughout Thursday night.

The Wichita Fire Department sent four brush trucks, eight firefighters and four support staff members to Harvey County on Wednesday night, Fire Marshal Brad Crisp said. They returned to Wichita at about 7:45 a.m. Thursday.

“They felt they were in a good position to return those units back to us,” Crisp said. “We do continue to be on standby in the event the weather shifts again and they need additional help.”

The Wichita crews were sent to Harvey County because more homes and structures were in the threatened areas, Crisp said. Wichita firefighters have more experience battling structure fires because of the urban setting they work in.

Harvey County authorities are asking residents to avoid the area and to obey all road barricades.

“The barricaded area is dangerous from thick smoke and falling debris as well as downed trees in roadways that are making roads hard enough to traverse without having additional vehicles on the roads from citizens,” Flavin said.

Fire crews are rotating in and out of the scene and are being closely monitored for health and safety, officials said. Two firefighters were treated and released Wednesday evening for eye irritation from blowing ash and smoke. No other injuries have been reported.

Residents of about a dozen homes evacuated voluntarily on Wednesday. A temporary shelter at Burrton High School was opened but has since been closed. Officials said the shelter would reopen if needed.

Crisp said the wind shifting to the northwest Wednesday night helped firefighters in southern Kansas and also in Reno and Harvey counties because it pushed the flames back onto territory that had already burned.

“The change in wind direction was very helpful,” he said. “Those crews should be able to get a very good handle on the spot fires” around Kansas.

It will be important to douse hotspots, he said, because winds are predicted to intensify and shift back to the south on Friday. They don’t want fires to flare up again when that happens.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 1:35 PM with the headline "Winds fan flare-ups as crews battle fires in Harvey County."