Golly this is starting to be an annual event.. one that we need to stop.
Again this map.. of Kansas.. And again Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado were also affected.. as well as others Idk.. but here at least.. gives a picture..
The Anderson Creek fire Last year in Comanche and Barber counties.. was eclipsed this year by Comanche (again) and Clark counties directly to the West. More acres and the fire went a LOT quicker.. Like half of Clark county burnt in 48 hours.. that's a BIG area almost wiping out an entire town of Englewood..
Here's today's "news" Pretty sobering..
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( http://www.kansas.com/news/state/article137072263.html )
“It’s horrible, just horrible. I left the house with (60) shells and used them all,” Konrade said. He said he probably killed 40 cows, “and in a lot of places there weren’t even very many left alive to put down.”
Konrade, an accountant by trade, had spent the day helping a local Clark County rancher destroy cattle maimed in the wildfire that he says burned almost the entire county. “All in all, I’d guess I seen between 300 and 400 dead cattle,” he said. “It was just a matter of putting animals out of their misery, doing them a favor. They were going to die anyway. “It’s horrible out there, the things I saw today. The fire was so big, and so much of Clark County burned, I don’t see how anything lived through it.”
.. “Let me put it into perspective: If someone had 500 cattle on their ranch, I’d guess at least 80 to 90 percent were killed in the last day,” Spare said. “That’s not including the calves; we’re really getting into calving season and there was a lot of baby calves on the ground.” Thinking of some of his customers, Spare estimated they lost at least 1,600 adult cattle and probably another 500 calves, or more. That could equate to losses well into the millions. One fire came up from Oklahoma, endangering the tiny town of Englewood. Another started north of Ashland and eventually endangered the county seat. Both towns were evacuated. Konrade talked of driving about 20 miles through Clark County and seeing nothing but burned areas for as far as he could see. “Even those big old cottonwoods, the ones with the alligatory bark, they were burned bare about 15 feet up,” Konrade said. Spare, the veterinarian, said conditions could not have been worse for endangering livestock. “These cows were pretty comfortable, just starting to calve, and there was plenty of grass for them,” Spare said. “These ranchers out here are good stewards; they know how to take care of their pastures. “But a lot of grass can be a double-edged sword. That’s a lot of fuel that can burn in a hurry.” Konrade said local ranchers, and most area residents, knew there could be bad fires this year. “Every time you come back in (from hunting or working in pastures) you knew how much fuel was there,” he said. “We’ve gotten good moisture the last three years. “It’s been dry lately, so you know if you get 60 miles-per-hour winds and anything ignites it, it’s going to burn fast. Still, we never dreamed it could all burn up that fast, but it did.” He spoke of a 22,000-acre ranch that was basically untouched at Monday’s sunset that was mostly ashes by Tuesday’s dawn. About any area that hadn’t burned Monday caught on fire Tuesday. These folks are gonna need some help..
Senator Roberts was there yesterday.. ( http://www.kansas.com/news/state/article137737768.html )
ASHLAND
Ranchers in Clark County lost anywhere from 3,000 to 9,000 head of cattle in Monday’s wildfire.
Fletcher Swayze is one of the few ranchers who can tell an upbeat story. He led most of his herd to safety, 100 head of breeding red Angus cows, by tempting them with a bale of sweet-tasting cane hay loaded on his pickup truck. He led them to a green wheat field – and then watched in awe and fear as flames sometimes 10 feet tall surrounded him and his herd. )
There are relief organizations ramping up.. KLA.. etc.. I may have some other contact info to post.. later.
Records were set on the Anderson Creek fire last year.. But sounds like this one is gonna beat it in size and damage...??? The Fuel Load was still there from the good precip the past couple of years coupled with humidities in the single digits along with 50+ mph sustained winds.. These are fires not seen since pre settlement days.
The Aid showed up for Anderson Creek.. but we are gonna need to do it again!!
Hay.. fencing... volunteers.. and even $$$... These folks are gonna need some help.
Wow.. just incredible the stories coming out.. again.. this year.
Edited by JonSCKs 3/11/2017 01:31
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update on the fires.
