More than 130 fire departments responded to Kansas fire

When the largest fire in Kansas history struck last week, spanning hundreds of thousands of acres, fire departments from across the state responded. At the time officials said they could not list all of the fire departments because many had come early to fight fires, before there was a system in place to check in and count them all.

But residents in Medicine Lodge have started a list on a Facebook page devoted to sharing information about the fire and so far have collected the names of over 130 fire departments, from cities and counties in Kansas and Oklahoma, that responded. Although officials say this list is not confirmed, it’s the most complete list that’s publicly available so far.

Paul Simon, a farmer and volunteer firefighter, was unable to assist in the firefighting effort himself, but he still wanted to contribute. And as soon as he started asking around, people started donating trucks, supplies and manpower. So they set out in a convoy of 10 semi-trucks and two pickups Wednesday morning to deliver their supplies.

The convoy set out from Marienthal in Wichita County to Medicine Lodge on Wednesday morning hauling 329 bales of feed, 950 posts, 52 rolls of wire, 80 power poles, two stock tanks and 15 bags of all-purpose feed.

The fire, which started March 22, burned nearly 400,000 acres of land in Oklahoma and Kansas, including Barber and Comanche counties.

This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 11:13 AM with the headline "More than 130 fire departments responded to Kansas fire."