By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The final report of the governor's wildfire task force was released Nov. 29.
State Rep. Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill, an area farmer, is a member of the task force, which made 30 recommendations with a $12 million plan for preventing and responding to potential wildfires by removing plant fuel from private and public lands as well as upgrading risk forecasts and volunteer fire departments.
“I created this task force [in 2022] because Kansas has been devastated by wildfires far too many times, and it was clear we needed to take a deeper look at how we prevent and respond to these disasters,” Gov. Laura Kelly said. “I look forward to working together to better support Kansans before, during and after wildfires.”
Devastating wildfires occurred in several southwest Kansas counties in 2016 and 2017, and in Reno County in 2022.
In mid-December 2021, about 164,000 acres of grassland burned in Ellis, Russell, Rooks and Osborne counties, swept by 100 mph plus winds. It's known as the Four County Fire.
The windstorm and wildfires caused more than $2.3 million in damages. Two people died, thousands of livestock were killed, and hundreds of miles of fencing burned.
Two of those four counties, Russell and Osborne, are within Waymaster's 109th House district.
Waymaster said he doesn't agree with all the recommendations made by the task force.
"We'll see what actually comes to fruition from that report. ... I did not necessarily support everything the task force was going to be submitting to the Legislature," he said, "but we'll see what we can do to having the state have a better response in regard to the wildfires."
Last year, Waymaster introduced a bill in the Kansas House that called for a structured response to any disaster that is declared by the governor.
He introduced it late in the 2023 session and said that was done on purpose because nothing had been generated from that particular task force.
"So, in one meeting we had in December 2022, I just started listening to the task force members and started crafting that piece of legislation ....
"... I did meet with the governor's office ... and they were in support of that structured way the state [should] respond to a natural disaster, whether it be wildfires, tornadoes, snowstorm or flooding," Waymaster said.
He considers the state's current response to natural disasters scattered.
"Regarding the Four County Fire, there was not a particular way the state responded. The governor issued the declaration of a disaster a week in advance of the Four County Fire," Waymaster said.
"And yet when it happened, the response from the different agencies and departments was miniscule, to be quite honest," he said.
"From KDHE to the Department of Agriculture, the Adjutant General's Office, to me, there was really no assistance from the state of Kansas.
"And that's what we need to protect our citizens," Waymaster said.
With little assistance coming from those state agencies, Waymaster said the affected farmers, ranchers, homeowners, county agencies and governments also lost out on financial assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Association.
"That's money that would have come back to the state of Kansas and assisted with the damages that were made, not only in the Four County Fire but those that happened all over the state that day," he said.
"Because we did not have that structure in place, or that backbone, we didn't serve our citizens, and that's why I crafted this legislation," Waymaster said. "Not only does it show who was responsible on a state level and how that trickled down to other agencies and departments, it also sets up a disaster contingency fund authorized by the State Finance Council of $10 million.
"So, if a local community like Paradise needs to have a match for the federal government regarding any dollars that might be coming from FEMA or any other federal agency, they can access that match through that contingency fund," Waymaster said.
The fund could only be accessed by the State Finance Council, which is led by the governor.
Cities would have to submit a request to the State Finance Council, which would meet and discuss whether to disperse the requested funds.