FINNEY COUNTY—Investigators are working to determine the cause of a grass fire in southwest Kansas.
At approximately 2p.m. Sunday, the Garden City Fire Department was dispatched to a reported grass fire at the intersection of Towns Road and U.S. Highway 50.
Upon arrival, fire personnel confirmed there was a large grass fire on the south side of US Highway 50 that had spread to the north side of the road. Wildland Task Force 7, Holcomb, Garfield Township, Kansas Forestry Service, and Pierceville Township were all dispatched for mutual aid assistance.
Finney County EMS was on scene for standby and firefighter rehab, Finney County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched for traffic control, and Wheatland Electric was dispatched to replace a damaged power pole.
U.S. Highway 50 was closed at Farmland Road to Towns Road from approximately 2:15 p.m. to 5:09 p.m. The fire was determined to be 98% contained at approximately 6:40 p.m. and agencies providing mutual aid started to be released.
In total, seven homes were evacuated. Preliminary estimates indicate 500-600 acres were burned, and 33 personnel were on scene fighting the fire. Two Garden City firefighters were transported to St. Catherine Hospital for evaluation where they were treated for smoke inhalation and released. One fire apparatus, Brush 4 (Ford F350), sustained damage and is a total loss. At this time, the cause of the fire is undetermined and there is no damage estimate available.