Crews were battling a large grass fire northwest of El Dorado, and Butler County officials were starting evacuations in the area. The fire was burning in the area of Highway 196 and Northwest 10th Street. No homes or buildings were damaged and by late afternoon crews had the fire contained and were working on hot spots.
Another large fire was reported in Reno County, where Hutchinson fire crews were working near 30th and Obee. Deputies were blocking traffic on 30th Street, and there were reports of some evacuations in the area. There were at least seven fires that broke out along 30th Avenue and crews worked into the night and Wednesday morning to get the fires contained. At least two homes and a shed were damaged by fire in the Bluestem neighborhood.
Later in the afternoon, Wichita firefighters were at the scene of a large grass fire near 29th Street North and I-135. The fire put up a cloud of smoke that could be seen from I-135 and K-96. The fire was contained by 6 p.m.
A red flag warning was issued for south central Kansas and much of the state because of dry and windy conditions. Gusty south winds helped to spread fires in Reno, Butler and Marion counties.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issued a state of disaster emergency Tuesday afternoon to make state resources and personnel available to counties needing help with wildfires.
