Grass

At least five fire departments responded to a grass fire in Butler County early Friday afternoon. An emergency dispatcher says the fire started out as a controlled burn in the 12000 block of S.W. 15th Street, north of Hwy 254, halfway between Benton and Towanda. Only 5 to 7 acres were suppose to burn but it quickly spreading, threatening one home. The fire is now out and no injuries are reported. Grass fire danger will be low this weekend.

Fire crews across the state of Kansas remain on high alert as grass fires continue to break out. Officials that spoke to Eyewitness News say the fires have been popping up due to the unusually dry fall that the state is experiencing. "The lack of humidity and of course being in Kansas the windblown weather also is a factor" says Salina Fire Marshal Roger Williams. Homeowners are urged to treat their yard as a defensive zone when surveying any possible grass fire dangers around their property.

Firefighters from Harvey County and McPherson have put out a grass fire in northwestern Harvey County. 911 dispatchers say the fire was in the area of NW 36 and North Wheat State Road, about four miles north of Burrton. Close to a dozen emergency units were on the scene. The call of the fire came in around 11:46 a.m. Dispatchers say they don't know how large the fire was but that no homes or structures are being threatened. No injuries have been reported.  

Fire crews spent a good part of Wednesday afternoon working to contain a large grass fire in Butler County at SW 40th & Santa Fe Lake. Several structures were involved in the fire, including three barns of hay that fire crews will allow to burn to the ground. The cause of the fire is not yet known and the officials kept the fire contained at around a half-mile wide.

By Eyewitness News (RENO/RICE COUNTIES, Kan.) A large grass fire north of Hutchinson is now out. Fire crews remain on the scene Thursday night looking for hot spots. The fire began as a controlled burn near the Reno-Rice county line Thursday morning. By afternoon, the winds picked up and the fire got out of control. Map - Location of Grass Fire Fire crews say between 600 and 700 acres burned by the time the flames were out. There is no private property damage, but flames destroyed one fire truck.

Hot and dry conditions have meant more work for firefighters in Ford County. Tuesday firefighters there worked to stop at least three fires, including one near Mullinville. Already this month Ford County has dealt with 42 fires. One of those was a grass fire Monday in the Wilroads Garden area. That fire burned around five acres of land and put four homes in danger. The siding on one of those homes was damaged, but fire crews were able to stop it from damaging the inside of the home.

An afternoon fire burns an area around Wichita's Big Ditch. The fire burned several acrews near I-235 and Central just east of Sedgwick County Zoo. No one was hurt. No buildings were damaged. There is no word how the fire started. Expect updates on-air, online and on Twitter ( http://www.twitter.com/KWCH12 ).

Arkansas City police say a man found in critical condition at a grassfire has died. Police say the 76-year-old Eugene Hoag was found by firefighters who were also battling that fire just east of Arkansas City on Thursday. The man was found with burns to his body. He was rushed to Cowley County Hospital, then to a Wichita hospital where he later died. The cause of fire was determined to be related to a brush pile being burned in the vicinity that got out of control, burning on 6 different properties covering approximately 4 acres.

By Eyewitness News (COWLEY COUNTY, Kan.) People may have taken advantage of no wind today to burn their fields. Many of those burns have gotten out of control. In Cowley County, one man died and another was hurt while trying to put out an out of control burn. Nine fire departments responded to the fire at the intersection of Cowley County Road 1 and Road 20. One of the men was taken to a Wichita hospital by helicopter where he later died. The other man was to taken the hospital in fair condition.