TOPEKA – The Kansas Adjutant General’s office says this year is one of the worst for wildfires. And the Kansas Wildland Fire Prevention and Education Team’s Tim Phelps said last weekend’s rain didn’t help much. Drought conditions are so bad that even people using using equipment such as brush mowers and hay balers are creating sparks that are starting wildfires, he said. Since March, Kansas Forest Service officials estimated that more than 41,000 acres have burned. Last week alone there were seven fires resulting in over 8,000 acres burned. The Kansas Forest Service said no structures have been lost because of wildfires over the previous seven summers but this summer, wildfires destroyed 26 structures. Phelps saidhis year’s fires are burning hotter, are more difficult to control and are more dangerous for firefighters to fight.
Friday, Aug. 31, 9 p.m.
