Gov. Brownback, National Guard commander praise volunteers in wildfire fight

The governor and the state’s National Guard commander on Thursday praised the efforts of volunteer firefighters who have carried the brunt of protecting property and lives from wildfires that have scorched more than 300,000 acres of Kansas in the past two days.

Gov. Sam Brownback also announced that 45 percent of Barber County has been burned by the largest fire, which started in Oklahoma and burned across the state line.

The governor also pleaded with the public to be watchful and report any flaring embers that could restart wildfires, to refrain from outdoor burning and to exercise maximum care when smoking outdoors.

Brownback said the state has asked for and received verbal approval for a federal grant to help pay for the public cost of the fire.

But neither he nor Kansas National Guard Adjutant Gen. Lee Tafanelli had any estimates of how high the costs might rise.

“That’s one of the largest grass fires we’ve had in recent memory,” Brownback said. “Some of the firefighters can’t remember a bigger one for the state of Kansas (but) we can’t confirm that right now, but it’s undoubtedly one of the largest grass fires.

“The good news was we didn’t have any significant injuries,” he added. “No fatalities, the number of buildings burned is still a little bit in flux, but it’s somewhere four to six right now that we know of.”

Brownback and Tafanelli fielded questions from reporters Thursday afternoon after the governor was briefed on the fires at the state Emergency Operations Center in Topeka.

One of the most pointed questions, based on angry e-mails from residents in the fire areas, was why the bulk of the firefighting is being handled by volunteers.

Tafanelli replied that that’s what Kansas has.

“About 80 percent of the firefighters across Kansas are volunteer fire departments,” Tafanelli said. “So that’s really what protects all of our communities each and every day. They are that first line of defense.

“The state doesn’t own resources when it comes to firefighting. The state doesn’t have firefighters.”

Tafanelli said what makes the fire response work are mutual aid agreements that compel counties to send their fire crews in when any county is threatened.

“We really utilize those local resources, then the locals have agreements with their adjacent counties and others to bring in those resources, and then as they consume those resources, then we go farther out and bring in other resources. We have other resources to bring in, if that was the decision of the incident commanders on the ground and if they felt that they needed them, more than what we have, then we would bring those in.”

Tafanelli said fatigue is becoming a factor, because the firefighters have been on the lines more than 24 hours. He said the state is working to bring in crews from outside the local area to provide relief.

Brownback also announced that the state has received verbal approval for a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The authorization means counties and cities will receive reimbursement for their direct costs of fighting the fires and any damage to their equipment, Brownback said.

The amount of the grant is limited to the actual costs but is not otherwise capped, officials said.

Brownback and Tafanelli stressed that the conditions that fed the Barber County fire and smaller blazes in Reno and Harvey counties – high sustained winds, dry humidity and heavy growth of grass and small trees – remain, and they urged residents to be vigilant and careful.

“If people are asked to evacuate, if fires do pop back up in the near term, please evacuate,” Brownback said. “The people are asking you to evacuate for your safety, and we need people to cooperate with that. We haven’t had any fatalities yet, but that doesn’t mean we can push it.”

Also, “I would ask too that as long as we have these conditions around, people be very careful about any of their activities that might spread wildfire because these things can flame and go very fast, very quickly.”

Brownback warned that even in the areas where the fires are fully contained, hot spots continue to smolder and could flare and take off in an new direction if the wind changes.

“Just be a good neighbor. If you see something pop back up, call people quickly and get them there,” Brownback said.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Gov. Brownback, National Guard commander praise volunteers in wildfire fight."