(STANTON COUNTY, Kan.) — A large grass fire in Stanton County is almost out. Emergency Manager Vaughn Lorenson tells Eyewitness News that 95-percent of the fire is controlled and only local firefighters are left on the scene, working to put out hot spots.
No injuries have been reported in this fire, but the damage is bad enough that Gov. Sam Brownback declared a State of Disaster Emergency Declaration.
The fire has burned an area of approximately 60 square miles (38,400 acres). It also threatened the communities of Johnson City and Manter, but neither was evacuated.
Firefighters from Stanton, Grant, Hamilton, Morton and Stevens counties, in addition to several departments from Colorado, helped battle the flames.
Winds of 40 mph helped fuel the fire.
Eyewitness News spoke with the board clerk for Stanton Schools, U.S.D. 452. Jean Malone says smoke was dark and heavy in the area for sometime Tuesday afternoon.
