Wildfire in Barber County 31 percent contained, official says (+video)

The wildfire that has burned hundreds of thousands of acres in Barber County was more than 30 percent contained as of Saturday evening, according to a Kansas Forest Service spokeswoman.

Shawna Hartman said that improved weather conditions, tapering wind and the arrival of several Kansas Air National Guard Black Hawk helicopters all contributed Saturday to increase the containment level of the Anderson Creek Fire in Barber County to 31 percent.

In a news release early Saturday, officials estimated that about 300,000 acres have been burned by wildfires in Kansas.

“There have been some spots, deep in canyons, that have been hard to get to,” Hartman said. “With the use of the helicopters, we were able to get some water on some of those spots. We were also able to work on the perimeter of the fire today, with the assistance of those helicopters.”

Four helicopters were supplied for the firefighting effort Saturday by the 108th Aviation Regiment of the Kansas National Guard. Hartman said the helicopters dropped water that was gathered from several private ponds in the area.

Each helicopter completed “several drops” from the 660-gallon buckets they carried, according to a release from the National Guard. The helicopters are expected to be used again on Sunday, the release said.

The wildfires also stretch into Oklahoma, and around 400,000 acres total have been burned in Kansas and Oklahoma. No injuries or fatalities have been reported in Kansas, although six homes have been destroyed, along with outbuildings, according to officials.

On Saturday morning, Darcy Golliher, a spokeswoman for the state’s command team in Medicine Lodge, said fire crews in Barber County were able to keep flames from spreading overnight.

Golliher said about 273,000 acres had burned in Barber County as of Saturday afternoon.

Just west of Barber County in Comanche County, emergency manager John Lehman said the fire was all but contained.

“As of tonight, you could probably say the fire in Comanche County is 95 to 100 percent contained,” Lehman said Saturday evening. “A few of those canyons might have some things burning, but everything around them is burned. By (Sunday), it should be completely under control.”

Lehman said close to 60,000 acres have burned in the county. Lehman said shipments of hay have continued to come into the county for livestock affected by the fires.

Barber, Comanche, Harvey and Reno counties all issued state of local disaster emergency declarations, and Gov. Sam Brownback authorized an emergency declaration on Wednesday for the affected counties.

The state requested and was granted a federal fire management grant for Barber and Comanche counties, according to a news release.

Brownback visited civic leaders and emergency responders in Barber County on Saturday, assessing the damage from the air.

“The local response system is working as it should,” Brownback said in a release. “The investment that has been made in ensuring those communities have the equipment and training they need is critical to an effective emergency management system. The system is working well.”

The Kansas Division of Emergency Management will continue to monitor the fires, as will the state’s Emergency Operations Center, according to the release from the governor’s office.

Smaller fires have also been reported recently in Clark, Meade, Harvey and Reno counties. As of Friday, about 1,000 acres had burned near the Clark-Meade county line, while close to 14,000 acres had burned in Harvey and Reno counties.

For south-central Kansas, meteorologist Eric Metzger said expected precipitation – including possibly up to an inch of snow – overnight into Sunday would likely aid firefighters.

“We’re probably looking at a quarter-inch of rain and, in some areas, a trace to an inch of snow on top of that,” Metzger said. “By 9 a.m. (Sunday), skies should be clear, and we should have a bright, sunny day. Any snow should probably be gone by noon.”

Metzger said winds were expected to be out of the northwest overnight, gusting to up to about 15 mph throughout the day Sunday. High temperatures are expected to be in the 50s on Sunday.

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 10:22 AM with the headline "Wildfire in Barber County 31 percent contained, official says (+video)."